You are my friend Right?
by Gale-Sama
Summary: When you feel yourself crossing that line, past the boarder of society, what will you do? Is is worth the risk? Naruto Uzumaki is about to find out first hand, when he's forced to partner up with the anti-social outcast, Sasuke Uchiha. NaruSasu goodness!
1. Chapter 1

_Naruto Story_

**Chapter One: High school**

At Konoha Academy, anything can happen. There are times when people find themselves at a cross roads, deciding which way would be best. Appearances based on the society around them, trying to fit in and become socially accepted.

Though this is true, how can one act when the choice they want to choose goes against all principles? To decide against whether or not what or who you truly are is really what you want it to be. Sometimes, it's best to go with a gut filling, and simply accept the blows that go along with it, whether the choice is in standards of society or not.

OoOoO

_Dreams. Dreams that seemed to have haunted him all week long without reserve or remorse. _

It happened in all innocence at first, they always happened normally. He would be sitting there, talking to his friends when suddenly a certain raven-haired teen caught his attention. From there own he would start to hang around him more and more. It seemed harmless, being as it was however, that didn't stop the fact that deep down, he desired to hold the thin frame; to grasp the attention of the pale-skinned beauty. He hoped that the irises eyes follow his every move, and that sooner or later, the socially inept yet heart-breaking attractive person would realize his feelings.

That was harmless . . . right? After all, it wasn't like he was pressed for sex from the person, just wanted to be immersed in their presence, their being. He didn't want anything intimate, but he couldn't help but want to feel what that pale, porcelain skin really felt like. What was being kept sealed away behind those enchanting soul-less eyes?

Either way, it always ended up with them alone; staring intently at each other with looks that could penetrate, followed by soft gentle touches, lips grazing over each other nonchalantly. Skin against bare skin; rubbing, merging frantically against one another. Words of sweet nothing-ness, pants and moans, soft murmurs of pleasure. Then he would wake up just before it got to out of hand.

Today was no different.

"_Ahh . . . hah . . . please . . ." thin fingers laced in wild hair, pulling, tangling as they arched and pressed against each other. Grunts filled the air that was thick with arousal and lust. Gentle touches, he trailed his hands down the curves of soft, thin hips, being rewarded with small sighs of bliss and passion. He groaned, this feeling, he could immerse in it all his life. Just stay like this, intertwined with each other in a desperate search of completion. _

_He moaned low, his voice thick and heavy with lust. "Just … uhn … an l-little more …" he panted in an ear before licking feverishly and kissing down to the juncture where the shoulder and collar met before sucking hard. _

_A low groan was his answer, along with a roll of hips that made him see stars for a minute. He thrust once, twice and suddenly a shudder ran over his whole body as muscles clenched around his cock. "AH-! I'm . . . co- coming!" Was the heated reply that followed the body beneath him to tense with pleasure then hands grabbed and scratched at him haughtily, frantically before the person's head fell back in bliss as they came. _

_That look, the look he received when the person was climaxing, was enough to make him come soon afterwards, both screaming out each other's names: "N- Narutooo!" He grunted and grabbed the body tightly, emptying himself in the tight entrance. With a loss of breath, Naruto breathed out the name of the person he wanted for so long; "Sa. . . Sasuke." _

Then he woke up.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Naruto looked around quickly to find him alone in his bedroom. For a moment, it all seemed so unreal. The blinding light that streamed into his bedroom over shined the area, making it clear enough to do a surveillance of the place. The room was bare, aside from the closet to his right on the far side of the room, followed by a dresser be of the left wall and night-stand by his bed.

With dreary eyes, Naruto checked to see that he was truly alone and then finally let out a small, saddened sigh. "So it was just a dream. Not that something like that could be real." His mind raced with the images from last night, making his face burn uncontrollably red.

_No way! I could never have . . . __**those**__ kinds of feelings for another man! Let alone someone as bastardly as Sasuke-teme! _He tried to use a reasonable approach but it didn't diminish the fact that he, Uzumaki Naruto, enjoyed the fact that he had sex with Uchiha Sasuke, albeit dream or not. It didn't make sense though, for him to have feelings for that loathsome person, the one who alienated himself from everyone else around him, it didn't comprehend in his mind at first. But then again, that was what attracted Naruto to him in the first place.

For the blonde to see him alone in class whilst everyone else was in groups conversing with one another and having fun. He was the only one that sat by the window, looking out with no real interest as the world practically past him by. Naruto had tried to become friends with him at one point, seeing how being alone too much could affect as person, as least that was what Iruka had said.

However, upon said meeting, when he walked up to him and introduced himself, the guy looked at him with uninterested eyes and blew him off! **BLEW HIM OFF! **Well, obviously, Naruto didn't take the reaction to well, going so far as to swear in the most vulgar of language. In the end, they had ended up with bruises and a week of detention.

That was four years ago.

Now, at the tender age of seventeen and counting, Naruto couldn't understand why he was just now thinking about the young Uchiha boy so suddenly. _Well, it is spring and my hormones seem to be raging now. _Be that as it was, it didn't stop the fact that it was only Sasuke Uchiha that he had such . . . vivid dreams about since he became of age to even know what a 'wet dream' even was.

Naruto didn't get the time to contemplate any further however, for at that moment he heard the voice of one Umino Iruka calling him for breakfast down stairs. "Naruto! I hope your up, get ready for school and have some breakfast!" Ruffling his blonde strands of bed hair, Naruto yawned audibly again and responded saying, "Coming Iruka!"

He ran into the bathroom and started about his day in his usually routine and stride. After washing and playing with the mirror for fifteen minutes trying to get his hair just right, Naruto strolled downstairs sporting a black T-shirt with the orange outline of the swirling symbol he used to wear on his orange jacket as a kid, and baggy if not ripped and faded jeans. As he entered the kitchen, Iruka was standing over the stove, obviously fixing breakfast. Naruto smirked and quietly snuck up behind him, giving him a start when he tapped his shoulder and said, "Ready to go." Jumping nearly ten feet in the air, Iruka spun around and glared at the blonde teen, anger and embarrassment evident on his face.

"Naruto, I told you not to do that!" He said with his voice still a bit shook up and shaking. Naruto couldn't help but laugh. Iruka had taken him under his wing when Naruto was two, his parents moving abroad so often that he was often home by himself for weeks to months on end. Iruka had taken the liberty to watch over the young tyke after it became obvious that they weren't coming back, seeing as they mailed a note to the respected mayor of the town, Sarutobi. It was then that Naruto had grown to know the only family he had in this world and truth be told, he wouldn't change it for the world.

Naruto took it upon himself to help his guardian, setting the table and making coffee for the elder and a glass of orange juice for himself. "You're too fun to tease Iruka! The opportunity was to golden to pass up!" He said with his laughing fit starting up all over again. Iruka shook his head at the naïve teen, but couldn't help joining in as well. He was never the one to scold or punish, it was never in his nature. He could be stern when it was needed though, as he had demonstrated more than once to Naruto through his fifteen years of living together.

As he set the food on the table, Iruka looked at Naruto and frowned. "You know you have to be in uniform Naruto." The blonde furrowed his brows and set his face into one of boredom and rebellion. "That school is so strict! How can they expect us to wear that . . . crap day in and day out, ne? I have the right to wear what I want! As long as I don't cause a ruckus or get into any fights, then I should at least be granted to wear whatever!" He retorted. The brunettes shook his head. "At least wear the school shirt then Naruto. I don't want Principle Tsunade to call me again because you decided it nice to make a fuss over something that could have been avoided! My boss will not accept anymore of me leaving early to pick you up from school anymore…"

Naruto waved a hand up as he drunk some of his juice. "I know, I know. Don't worry; I'll wear the shirt at least. Then they can give me credit for trying."

Iruka smiled sadly. "Thank you Naruto. I know none of this is easy for you. Especially after. . ." Naruto gave him a stern look that read, _"Don't bring it up."_ After that, they seemed to have eaten in silence for the rest of the morning. Only after they finished, did Iruka decide it was time for him to go to work. "Naruto, don't forget that you need to go to school on time. And it's your turn to do the dishes," he stated as he started to gather the things necessary to use for work. Naruto reclined in his chair and leaned his head back. "Got it! I'll just hitch a ride from Shikamaru and the others!"

Nodding, his scarred face guardian gave him a small smile before leaving. "Don't forget to lock the door and set the alarm before you leave." Naruto rolled his eyes flippantly. This wasn't the first nor would it be the last time that Iruka would forget that he wasn't a little kid anymore. He had matured into a young man, one that one many instances could take good care of himself. But regardless, he told him that he would do as instructed, before clearing the table and calling Shikamaru to come and pick him up.

OoOoOoOoO

The honk of the horn was well-heard as Naruto hurried to make his way out the house. As he made haste out the place, he remembered to set the alarm and lock the door. Waiting for him outside, was a silver Toyota Rav4 in the street in front of his house. Shikamaru honked the horn once more, obviously stating for the young man to hurry for the engine was still running and he didn't want to waste more gas than necessary.

Naruto walked over to the car, taking in the view of three of his closest friends. Shikamaru was the designated driver, hands on the wheel staring at him patiently yet the blonde knew better. In the passenger side was Choji eating away a bag of barbeque chips, and in the seat directly behind him was Kiba with his dog Akamaru seated in his lap, content with being scratched behind the ears.

"Come one Naruto! I ain't gonna be late just 'cuz you wanna lounge around drooling at how hot I am!" Kiba barked, though to those who were close to the hyper-active, silver-tongued teen they could tell he was only joking. Naruto sneered and hit him upside the head with his back pack before making way into the automotive.

"So Shika? You got the jeep a new paint job?" Naruto quipped for friendly talk to the other wise quiet and self-collected young man. Shikamaru said nothing at first, waiting until the car was at a complete stop before talking. "Yeah, I decided to splurge a little since I got a raise at my job," he said dead-pan but humor tinged at the tone of his voice.

Naruto seemed to beam. "They finally gave you a raise? Wow, I expected it to have happened in at least another month or so," he laughed. True, the job Shikamaru currently resided in seemed to be cheap, but it still paid enough for him to pay off the car note and cell-phone bills presented to him. Of everyone in the group, Nara Shikamaru was the most responsible person one could ever know.

"Yeah, the bastards agreed to give me a raise after a little… convincing," he stated, the hint not going unnoticed. Naruto sat back and smiled. There were times where being a teenager was difficult, especially these days and ages, but to have time to just be yourself around people who accepted you for who you were and your faults, that's what it a bit more okay.

Kiba nudged Naruto's shoulder, trying to gain his attention. When the blonde turned to face him, the ashen haired teen showed him a picture taken on his phone. At first there was silence.

Then a smile.

And finally, Naruto beamed and smacked Kiba on the back. "You finally went all the way?" He said; eager evident in his face. The red-marked dog lover gave him a smug grin. "Went all the way last night. I was actually surprised; she's so shy and bashful. But that's just the way she is," he said as he patted Akamaru on the side.

Naruto couldn't believe it either, especially from someone like Hyuuga Hinata. Sure, she was hot, one of the hottest girls in school, but she was so timid and shy that it seemed to have cancelled each other out and made her a bit weird. But her snow white skin and dark hair that shined like the color of midnight purple all the way to her back, and the fact she was smart made Kiba try anyway. Granted, Naruto thought it wouldn't go that far, since Hinata had a crush on him for the longest time in fact, but when he saw them going steady after three weeks, he thought that maybe just maybe they were serious.

Needless to say, this verified the fact.

"So…?"

Kiba quirked an eyebrow. "So what?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and grinned. "Don't just sit there, how was it?" Inuzuka's smirk grew considerably as he reminisced back to the night before. "She was a virgin," he said slowly. Naruto rolled her eyes. "Well no shit! I didn't think that was possible!" Kiba glared at him before saying, "As far as the sex itself was concerned. She knew what the hell she was doing when it came to oral," he said, a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth again. Naruto's mouth dropped. "No way," he breathed. Kiba nodded, chuckles escaping his lips. "Way," he retorted.

The blonde could have fallen over in shock at the news. Who knew that shy Hinata knew how to give a blow-job? The mere thought of it was uncanny. Blue eyes widened considerably as they looked at narrowed black ones, obviously trying to call his bluff. "I know I didn't believe it at first too. The thought never crossed my mind that she knew what she was doing! But then again you know what they say; the quiet ones are always the ones that know the most. This isn't an exception apparently." Naruto leaned close to Kiba until only the two of them could hear his next statement.

"So who was the guy?" he whispered cautiously, not wanting Choji or Shikamaru to hear him. Kiba gave him a look and shook his head. "I dunno. She wouldn't tell me," he said solemnly. Naruto sighed. "Guess not huh?" They remained silent after that, Kiba deciding not to talk about it anymore and naruto still trying to grasp the fact that Kiba, his best pal, actually had… well you know… with **Hinata Hyuga**. When if her father finds out? Does he even know they're going out in the first place? Curious eyes gazed over at his friend who was looking absently at Akamaru, stroking the white fur aimlessly.

He sighed and looked out his side of the car, watching as other cars whizzed by and people worked about doing what needed to be done so early in the day. A voice brought him out of his thoughts. "So, when are you going to go steady Uzumaki?" said the laid back one in the group. Naruto shrugged. "There's no one at school who interests me," he said bluntly. He could see in the rear-view that Shika was giving him a confused stare. "No one? What about Haruno?" Naruto smiled at the mention of Sakura.

She was indeed beautiful, another attractive one in school. Her short pink hair shaped out her small face, and her green eyes sparkled innocently whenever she looked his way. The only problem was that she had a short temper when it came to jokes. "She would never give me the time of day. With the constant swarm of guys around her daily, it would be damn near impossible to speak with her," he said dejectedly. A chuckle was heard from the front. "You're just scared that she'll reject you," was the lazy-bum's reply.

Well, that's another reason why.

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Why did Shikamaru have to have the ability to practically see past what a person really means? It's like most of the time you would swear that he had e.s.p. or something! Either way, the blonde mulled it all over. It wasn't that he had feared of the rejection, which was something that he could deal with. What he couldn't deal with, was the fact that currently he had a certain fetish concerning a certain guy and he wanted to make sure that the whole ordeal was nothing more than Naruto simply going through a phase.

He didn't want to go out with someone who he was faint at heart with in other words. It didn't seem fair if he were to be in said relationship with Haruno, and had Uchiha on his mind. He sighed. "Yeah, I guess you could say that," he admitted. Shika said nothing. He could take a hint, unlike most people. The ride other than that was mostly in silence, with the occasional question of homework and tests from their teachers. After twenty minutes or so, they arrived at Konoha High. Naruto looked to see teens huddled in groups of different diversities, all seemingly at peace with one another.

Goths in one corner, jocks in another, along with the cheerleaders of course. The nerds and wannabe's in group's side-by-side but never in contact with each other. It struck as odd how kids could create groups for themselves and seemed to refrain from other people they may call 'odd' or 'un-natural'. But he wasn't one to start a protest over it. As long as peace was there at school, Uzumaki couldn't care less. After Shikamaru parked his jeep, the four men walked up back on campus. Upon their arrival, they met up with the others'; preferably Lee, Neji, and Shino. No one gathered time to talk however, because as soon as they met, the bell rang, echoing for them to hurry to class.

OoOoOoOoO

First period seemed to drag out, the teacher giving a boring lecture about The History of Konohagakure. Naruto personally grew bored after the first five minutes, and was now doodling away in his notebook. Every now and again, he would cast a glance over at Haruno, who was intently listening to the lecture, jotting down notes here and there. A smile crossed his lips. Sakura was indeed soft on the eyes, even if it was just the back that he could see. He recalled back when they were in the seventh grade. He had finally gathered up the courage to ask her out on a date.

Naruto had waited until it was time for school to let out, not wanting to be seen asking her out and teased about it later on. When she ran into him upon leaving, he had rambled on and on about how nice she looked and how great a job she did on the essay she read during class earlier that day. Then he seemed to have tripped over his own words, babbling nonsense until he finally remembered the reason for the encounter.

Giving her a handful of assorted flowers, he asked the pink-haired girl out to ramen. To his dismay however, she rejected him. Not only that, but she ended up home for a week because some of the flowers given to her made her break out with an allergic reaction of hives. Needless to say, she was very angry with him when she returned to school the following week and refused to talk to him for the remainder of the year.

But now, five years later, he was sure that she could have forgotten all of that. As if she felt the stares, said teen turned around to look for the source of the stares. When emerald eyes locked onto crystal blue ones, Naruto gave her a nervous smile and waved. She looked at him a good while, sizing him up before giving him an indifferent look and turning away.

Dejected, Naruto slowly averted his attention back to his notebook. _How can she still be mad at me for something that happened when we were kids! Females are confusing… _he mentally groaned and buried his head in his hands and gave out a pitiful cry. Only the tap on his desk tore him from his pity-fest, and he looked down to see a note. Casting eyes over to his right, he saw Shikamaru give him a concerned look. He opened the small, folded piece of paper which read: Is the serum that boring that you're about to mentally degenerate?

Grinning, he scribbled back a reply and discreetly passed it back. Hearing the snicker to his side, he took it that Shikamaru got the gist of the joke. They exchanged notes, snickering and laughing quietly. At times they seemed to have received weird looks, but they ignored them. Shikamaru wasn't the kind of person to worry over what other people thought of him. He took pride on who he was, and didn't let the looks of judgment and discontent change who he was. That was what made himself and Naruto such good friends; because the blonde had the same rules and beliefs.

However, the only thing that did make them look away from the notes passed on were the two pieces of chalk thrown at both on them that was aimed and thrown precisely at their foreheads. Rubbing the soreness from their heads' they looked up in unison to see their teacher glaring at them from behind a textbook placed before his face. "If you are done disrupting my lessons, will you two do that next forty questions and write out a five page essay about the battle on Konohagakure and how it led to the revolution of how it evolved into what out town is now."

Both Naruto and Shikamaru groaned in simultaneously.

OoOoOoOoO

When first period let out, Naruto walked solemnly out the classroom beside Shika. "That man always has a stick up his ass! How can he expect a five-page report by tomorrow?" Naruto said, anger and humiliation for being given the assignment evident in his rough voice. Shikamaru sighed. "It doesn't matter to me. I already wrote it out, I'm heading to the library at lunch to type it out and send it," he said casually. Naruto stopped walking and balked at his friend. "Wait… you already wrote out FIVE complete pages in less than forty minutes?" Shikamaru paused three feet in front of him and gave him a blank stare with a grin playing out on his face. "It was actually done in less than thirty. I'm a genius, you know that as well as anyone else Uzumaki."

Naruto snarled and began picking up his stride once more, Nara falling into step beside him. "You bastard," he bit out, but no true anger was there. Shikamaru laughed. "You're just mad because you didn't think about getting started while in class. Sakura had your attention the whole time," he said snidely. A blush rose to the young teens' cheeks.

It was true. Not to long after being called out in front of the entire class, Sakura was asked to come to the front and read a speech she had prepared three days prior. Naruto was so entranced by her voice, staring at her lips as they moved that he didn't think about anything else other than the girl in front of him. Though she never mad eye contact with him, he could imagine her staring at him the whole time, those beautiful green eyes coaxing him as she spoke without once messing up.

"So what? I like her, it's only natural that she'd catch my attention," he said plainly, hands tucked behind his head as he looked up at the ceiling while they walked. Nara made a grunting sound before he was grabbed from the arm, tugged downward. "Shikamaru, I looked everywhere for you!"

A long pony-tail of blonde hair swept behind a small, petite frame. Naruto winced at the high-pitched voice but tried to hide it. Looking over at his best friend, he saw (to his disdain) Yamanaka Ino glomping over his buddy. Shikamaru looked at her tactlessly as she rambled on about first period and how the teacher there was so boring that it made her want to scream. Naruto honestly didn't know what his pal saw in her. Ino was probably one of the most annoying people Naruto ever met, and it was bad enough that he didn't like seeing her during second and third period, but he saw her practically everywhere now seeing how she and Shikamaru **miraculously **hooked up.

It didn't matter to him rather she was cute or not, the fact was that Ino thought she was better than everyone. But he put up with her for his friends' sake. He did find it refreshing that she acted as if he wasn't even there though, making it easier for him to refrain from speaking to her and saying something that would end up with her talking him into submission.

"Are we still going out this Saturday Shika?" she said in a seductive yet childish way. Naruto held back the urge to roll his eyes at her. She was a total bitch to everyone else, but when it came to Shikamaru, her whole demeanor changed significantly. Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, the movies right?" Ino smiled and let out a girlish shrill of delight. That time Naruto **had** to cover his ears visibly. "That's great! Pick me up around seven okay? We can get something to eat before heading out to the cinema," she said with the utmost high-pitched enthusiasm present.

Shikamaru didn't answer, but nodded. Naruto figured it would be best to leave them, so he walked on ahead. One thing he knew about Shikamaru was the fact that he was bashful when it came to broadcasting his relationship with Ino. It wasn't because he didn't like her, because he honestly did, but it was because he didn't want others to know and cause for Ino to get hurt by his many fan-girls.

They can be really nerve-wracking when provoked.

Walking into his next class, he saw Kiba and Hinata sitting at Kiba's desk. Kiba was sitting sideways in the seat, Hinata in his lap blushing profusely. Naruto smiled. It was good to see one of his friends with someone they liked. But deep down, he felt a tinge of loneliness. He wanted someone special to share that experience with. But due to his rebellious nature and bad rep with the teachers and students, most girls' avoided him like he was the plague.

Not that it mattered to him, because it didn't in all honesty. He only had eyes for Haruno Sakura anyway, so this was actually a good thing for him. Unfortunately, lately little by little, girls have started to state their affection towards the blonde. He took his seat and waited for Shikamaru to make his way inside, leaving Kiba alone with his girlfriend and Choji to his hidden stash of snacks. Unpacking the necessary material needed for class, he didn't notice the person taking seat next to him. By the time he looked up, Naruto forgot how to breathe.

Sitting by the window, minding his business was THE Uchiha prodigy himself: Uchiha Sasuke. The light around him gave off some sort of angelic glow; his pale white skin making his raven dark hair all the darker. His eyes narrowed as he looked at nothing in particular, simply taking in the sight that he stared at since the moment he sat in that seat from the beginning of the school year. Naruto quickly shook his head and fixed the jumbled up mess on his desk, averting his attention away from the source of his dreams for the past few weeks.

When he heard the shrill of a female voice, he winced yet again, taking notice that said Uchiha visibly flinched as well. Smirking, he turned to the door and saw Ino hugging Shikamaru and then mouthing something to him. Afterwards, Shikamaru smiled slightly and said something back. Finally they hugged each other tightly and kissed chastely on the lips before he walked away to his next class. Naruto sighed.

He really wished there was someone he could do that with.

Glancing over at Sasuke, he decided that today he would be courteous. Clearing his throat, he said a shaken, "M-morning Sa…suke." The raven haired man looked over at him and looked away, mumbling back the words, "Dobe." Naruto growled. Even when he was at least attempting to be civilized, the bastard still had to act all high and mighty! He barked back, "I said 'HEY', Sasuke-teme!" The Uchiha narrowed his eyes into a glare and seethed back, "What do you want, Usuratonkachi?" They sat there, glaring at each other.

Naruto couldn't help but to look over his body. Sasuke was wearing his school uniform neatly, the white linen with the school insignia on the left side and a pair of black slacks. Even with something so plain, he had to admit the young man looked damn good in it. A sneer made him look back up and lock eyes with flustered black irises.

"I'm trying to be nice today, but you insist on *still* acting like a bastard, teme!" Naruto bit out, acting as though he didn't just check him out. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You? Being nice? Don't make me laugh, dobe," he said calmly, though you could still make out the arrogance hidden in there. Naruto balled up a fist, trying to refrain from punching him with it. With gritted teeth, he said slowly, "How can you be such a… *jack-ass* this early in the morning? Did you eat a day's worth of 'bastard' for breakfast or something?" Sasuke gave a bitter, chilling laugh. "No, they have pills for that now."

It took everything in him not to laugh at that.

Sasuke and Naruto had this routine going for them for years. They never saw eye to eye on anything it seemed. It one said white, the other had to say black. If Sasuke said 'Up', Naruto said 'Down'. If he said in, Sasuke said out… That last thought made Naruto blush and cough to cover it.

He shook his head and let out a defeated sigh. "Whatever man. Just next time I try to be nice, punch me **hard**." With that he placed his head on his left hand, elbow rested on the desk as he faced away from Sasuke and chatted to one of his friends.

If he was paying attention, he would have heard the soft reply, "Morning, Naruto."

OoOoOoOoO

After ten minutes of being alone in the classroom, their teacher entered the premises. Standing leanly, in a pair of grey slacks, with a red dress shirt tucked in and a grey dress coat over the shirt, with a mask to keep the air pollutant out was Hatake Kakashi. "Hello class," he said smoothly as he made his way to the table in front of the room. The class murmured and whispered about how he's always so late for class each day and how it didn't make any sense why they were the ones who were punished for entering late from time to time.

Naruto sighed and leaned back on the chair, mumbling something in the lines of: "He's such an ass for doing this every day!" Sasuke grunted but narrowed his eyes in response to his sensei's behavior. How could someone who's supposed to be a role model act more childish than the class he teaches? Kakashi finished preparing for the lesson then stood in front of the class and smiled… at least that's what the class thought it was underneath the face-mask.

"Alright class! We're pairing up so be ready to switch seats!" A loud chorus of groans was the retort. Ino was the first to throw a fit- as Naruto suspected. "Why so late in the school years Kakashi-sensei? This makes no sense!" The class seemed to agree with her, even Naruto.

Kakashi arched an elegant eyebrow at her. "Is this a problem for you, Miss Yamanaka?" his tone held affirmativeness and authority, leaving no room for argument. Ino swallowed hard, quite audibly and said a meek but rebellious: "No." Kakashi clapped his hands together and said a happy, "Excellent! Now, I have the seating arrangement right here! If everyone would just stand…" The class reluctantly followed his orders, mumbles of protest in their wake.

It didn't matter to Naruto, he was actually glad to be getting a new seat. Being far away from Sasuke would probably solve his bedding problems and it would clear his head. He smiled widely at the thought. "What're you so happy 'bout?" was the rough and rowdy reply of his pal Kiba, along with a punch to the arm. Naruto rubbed the spot vigorously. Maybe Kiba didn't know how hard he could hit.

"Nothing~! Just thought it would be good to be in a new spot. Maybe I'll get a spot in the back so that I can nap without being noticed ne~?" He joked. Kiba smiled. "Yeah, maybe I'll get a seat next to Hinata in the back and we can get more acquainted with our new roles as mates!" He roared with laughter at the thought. Naruto shook his head. As far as Kiba was concerned, he would never use the word 'lover' or 'partner'. His family were said to live in the wilderness and trained wolves so they never took a liking to the 'humanly terms' as they would say. He had once explained it was saying that the word 'lover' and 'partner' wasn't as strong an endearment as 'mate' because it didn't signify how deep the connection.

Anyway, everyone waited to be moved around the room. Some of the seating arrangements were for the best, like Ino and Sakura being separated finally. Some people thought that if something wasn't taken care of soon with those two, they would've ended up killing each other, best friends or not.

"Let's see, whose next? Ah! Sasuke-kun~!" He sang out, making everyone suffer a bad case of nausea. Sasuke grimaced and waited for his orders. Kakashi smiled-(at least they think) - and pointed to the back corner seat. "You sit back there," he ordered. Sasuke glared at him a while longer before collecting his things and quickly evacuating to the far side of the room. Naruto felt a little faint of heart when he stared at the bare seat. He spared Sasuke a quick glance in the back when he was seated quietly.

Sasuke returned the stare then tightened his jaw and looked away. Naruto was taken aback by the sudden gesture but never-the-less faced the front once more. "Neji, you go to Sasuke's old seat and Lee, go to Naruto's seat," Kakashi said coolly. Naruto's mouth dropped but moved aside with Lee stood there patiently for him to move. When he walked away, he noticed that Rock Lee gave him a saddened expression obviously saying: "Sorry." Naruto grinned with feigned enthusiasm and stood to the front of the room (coincidently standing next to Sakura).

Name by name, the room started to fill back up with students in new seats. Every now and again, the blonde would spare Sasuke a look, and sometimes would see the raven-haired teen looking directly at him with an expression he couldn't make out. Finally, he heard Kakashi say, "Uzumaki." Naruto jumped at his name being called with such authority. Looking over at his teacher, he saw the silver-haired man glaring down on him. "I gave your seat much thought you know. You should thank me for putting such care into this spot." Naruto blushed, embarrassed and mumbled out, "Thanks."

The class all laughed at his reply and the 17 year old hid it by looking at the ground and rubbing the back of his head. Kakashi chuckled a little. "Now after much considerate and restless nights of thinking this through…" More chuckles. "… I decided to sit you…" Naruto gritted his teeth together. _Why is he taken such dramatic pauses? _

Kakashi stared at him then his eyes crinkled, a sure sign that he was smiling now. "I decided to seat you next the only person who could stand you and keep you out of trouble. Uchiha Sasuke." The room made a noise of obvious shock and disapproval (mostly from the female division). Naruto couldn't believe it himself. He was still going to sit next to that bastard? He gave Kakashi a look of visible confusion.

Nodding, Kakashi explained himself, extending his arms in dramatic poses. "I've seen the way you two communicate with each other. It seems you two are much closer than you lead on!" He said, laughing a bit at the end. The room quieted and then looked between Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto blushed until his entire face was red. Sasuke wasn't doing so well either; closing his eyes and covering the lower half of his face with his folded hands.

"What are you talking about, you… weirdo?" Naruto seethed.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "Now your feigning ignorance. My, my, you two really do try your damndest to make sure no one sees. I know your little secret however." Naruto grew more and more anxious with each passing word that escaped his teachers' lips. _Does he know about the way I look at him sometimes? I don't mean to look at that jerk, I don't even like being in his presence! I gave him too little credit! _ Naruto clenched his fists at his sides. Kakashi placed a firm hand on his shoulder, making him jump.

They looked at each other, calm and collected black eyes staring at cerulean shocked blue ones. "You two are best friends!" The world stopped for several moments as Uzumaki mulled it over. Then finally a voice yelled out:

"What the hell's your problem?" All eyes looked up front, surprised and startled all at once. Naruto looked around for the source of the call, and then realized that it was he who called out to his sensei in such a manner.

Kakashi gripped his shoulder tighter and said a pleasant, "That's another thing Naruto-kun. From now on, I'm putting you under his care which means that you two are responsible for each other. In other words; if you get in trouble, you both receive the penalty." At this, Sasuke stood and said an aggravated, "THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

All the girls agreed in anger, vouching for their favorite anti-social hottie. Naruto looked over at Sasuke to see heated eyes glaring at both him and his teacher. Naruto looked back down, averting his gaze to the floor in shame. He didn't want Uchiha to get in trouble along-side him, especially if he didn't do anything! Granted, he hated him, loathed the raven-haired bastard, but even he had standards.

Swallowing his pride, naruto whispered out in the midst of the chaos, "Sorry." Kakashi glanced down at him, eyes widened in disbelief before he patted him on the back comforting. "You're forgiven. Now go to your new seat and try not to get in any trouble!" Naruto nodded grimly and walked to his new seat, seemingly robotic and dodging the heated stares that was shot his way.

When he arrived there, he chanced a look at Sasuke, who didn't seem to even acknowledge his presence. With a defeated sigh, he slumped in his seat.

_This is gonna be a loooong class period. _

OoOoOoOoO

Throughout the lecture, Naruto was moping. It wasn't any fun to do absolutely nothing during class, granted the chance of having detention and sending someone who though you hated didn't deserve it right along with you. Not only that, but when being assigned partners, he was teamed with Sasuke.

Big f-ing surprise.

At least there was an up side to all this; he got to sit next to his biggest crush, Sakura. She didn't seem to mind it either. But he suspected it was because she was so close to Sasuke. Everyone knew that she loved him with a passion; in fact she had grown her hair out long enough so that Sasuke might like or at least take notice of her.

Naruto sighed with more depression now. The girl he likes likes his enemy. What a twist of irony. A tap on his desk slowly dragged him from his self-loathing. Sasuke gave him a fixed look and wrote a note on the desk. Curious, he opened it.

_Stop sighing and pay attention dobe! This stuff will be on the next test and we have a project on it you Usuratonkachi!_

Frowning, blue eyes trailed back to the source of the letter. Sasuke was already back to work, acting as though nothing had happened. He growled and balled up the note, but started to write out notes none the less.

Every now and then he would see his friend Kiba giving flirting looks to Hinata, but that was about it. There was no real action from his perspective. Ino would look back and give Sakura a glare, which the pink-haired beauty would gladly return. Shikamaru had an advanced placement class for second period so he couldn't be in here with Naruto. Choji was sneaking in food through-out the lecture, thinking that he was being absolutely discreet and Neji was busy being in the solitude of his work while Lee had a determined look of endurance to be the same.

He sighed. Then quickly covered his mouth, less he receive another depression note from Sasuke that lessened his ego. Naruto tried to stay focus but it seemed harder and harder to do. From the back of the class, the words on the board were a jumbled mess of disoriented letters that he couldn't seem to decipher.

Squinting with the hopes that somehow it would help, Naruto grumbled as he wrote down the words. When he looked at his notes, he saw them to be more so of a mess than what was on the black board itself. He let out a defeated groan and slumped back in his seat. He hadn't expected the fact that he didn't see the board to well, he wanted to enjoy being in the far reaches of the teacher, not despaired.

Sasuke saw the way Naruto first looked at the board, and then proceeded to lean forward and _squint_ as he wrote down everything he thought was on the board. Then looked in dismay at the pages and groaned before slumping back in his seat, completely blocking out everything that had to do with the class. The Uchiha prodigy sighed. Then he gathered up the notes he had already written and discreetly placed them on Uzumaki's desk.

He honestly felt foolish for doing this. It was silly how he had to look after the one person in the world that he hated. Granted, he didn't really hate him until the fights started. When Naruto had first introduced himself all those years ago, Sasuke had been so shocked that he didn't know how to react. Being as socially inept as he was, he didn't know what to do in such a situation. So he did what he knew what to do; block him out.

The whole thing made him secretly happy and he had hoped that the young blonde boy would understand that he had actually _wanted_ to be friends with him, but instead he took it quite the opposite and ended up swearing a crude amount of vulgarity that as the last resort they ended up covered in bumps and bruises.

But now, maybe he would be able to finally make right the wrong that happened so long ago. Naruto tapped his desk earning his attention. Looking up, he saw smiling cerulean eyes staring at him. Naruto gave him a thumbs' up and mouthed out the words: _Thank You. _Sasuke felt a tinge of a deep feeling he had never encountered before and looked away.

"Just hurry up and copy," he mumbled. Then eyes widened in shock as he realized what he had done. He mentally face-palmed but on the outside gave him a look of indifference.

_I can't believe how I act sometimes. Why don't I ever just let people try to get close to me? _

Being smart had its downfalls, because by being so intelligent, his parents' had made Sasuke take private lessons like his brother had before him. He never had the chance to actually play with kids his age. The only freedom of simulation he received were the times he spent with his older brother, Itachi. But that was different. Now, Sasuke didn't live with his parent's any longer, instead taking it upon himself to live in with his elder at the age of fourteen.

Even though Itachi had told him over and over that his hard-headed, egotistic nature would grant him to be alone or even loathed by the student body; Sasuke didn't listen. It wasn't that he didn't want to; it was so much as he didn't know how to do it. But now he has someone he could practice these ethics on, even if he hated the very sight of him.

He looked over at Naruto to see him happily jotting down notes, and then grimaced when he saw that Haruno Sakura was looking directly at him. He didn't truly like her; she was so annoying that it grated his nerves, even if she did have her 'tolerable' moments. He rolled his eyes and went back to work, not wanting to be singled out in the class due to Uzumaki and Haruno.

When class seemed to end, Kakashi stood in front of the class and lifted a hand signaling the class to stand with him. When the class followed suit, Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Now then, don't forget, the project is due in one month! That's all! So take the time to familiarize yourself with you partner, visit each other, go places together, if you need help, seek each others assistance before going to someone else. You will need to count on each other for help and to get a wholesome grade on the assignment."

Sasuke glared at Naruto who looked at him with wide eyes. "You better not screw this up for me. We have to work together on this, and I refuse to be dragged down because you want to be rebellious and stupid!" Naruto frowned, for a minute he looked honestly hurt. Then he sneered and growled out, "Right, so don't try to act all high and mighty, you self induced bastard."

Sighing with irritation, Sasuke gathered his things and stormed out the room, the notes he handed Naruto still in the Usuratonkachi's care.

OoOoOoOoO

Third period held no particular interest, just the fact that Naruto and Sasuke seemed to exchange glares every time they were caught staring at the other. No one questioned the interior motives behind the heated stares, seeing as it was natural for the two to sneer and make sarcastic remarks to each other.

If they were really paying attention, they would have noticed a hint of embarrassment and the tinge of a pink that formed on their cheeks whenever they spoke to each other.

As the day progressed, things occurred as they usually would. Around lunch, Naruto met up with Neji, Shikamaru, Lee and Choji. Kiba had run off somewhere with his girlfriend, and Shino was so quiet that even he was there with them, none of the young men would notice. The small group received their assorted foods and picked a vacant table. Upon seeing that there were none and no one had bothered to save a spot, each one thinking that the other had already done the task, they roamed around looking for a decent place to eat.

When it was all said and done, they sat outside on the school campus. Picking a spot on the cement border that encased a tree inside of it; they all sat along the edge, Naruto preferring to just sit of the grass beside the edge of it and laid back, hands tucked behind his head in careless fashion.

For a while, no one talked. But finally, the silence was broken when Lee cleared his throat. "So… what will you be doing your projects on for Kakashi-sensei's class?" Neji made a 'humph' sound before saying, "I don't think it would wise to tell you." Lee frowned. "Why is that?" The Hyuga chuckled before lifting his hand and pointing behind him to the blonde. "If I say, then Uzumaki here may steal my idea." Naruto's eyes snapped open as he jumped up and glared at the long-haired teen.

"What the hell does that mean Hyuga?" Neji remain composed as he looked at Naruto nonchalantly. "You refuse to do your own work. If anything, you try your hardest to make sure that you don't lift a finger when it comes to your studies." Naruto growled. It was true, but damn, Neji had a way to just make the wound bleed a lot more than it was suppose to be.

Shikamaru raised a hand tiredly and yawned. "Hey, don't start anything while there are other people around. It'll be troublesome." Neji refrained from smiling but the glint in his eyes gave him away. "As well, Naruto wouldn't you being punished also affect Uchiha now? I doubt he would appreciate the gesture of being out through your sanctum called detention because you didn't enjoy a few words of truth."

_Man, I REALLY wanna give you a thorough what-for you… GAH! _Naruto folded his arms and puffed out hot air, reluctantly dropping the subject. "One of these days Hyuga, I'm really gonna show you your true destiny, with my foot up your butt!" Everyone howled in laughter, with the exception of said Hyuga Neji. The moment died however, upon the arrival of one Ino.

"Shikamaru! I looked everywhere for you! Let's eat our lunch's together, 'kay?" The group outwardly shuddered in repulsion when she came around. Shikamaru leaned forward resting his arms on his thighs and looked up at his girlfriend.

Naruto sighed. _And commence the nagging voice in three…two…one… _no sooner had he counted down, Ino started to yammer away, giving Shika very little chance to respond as he stood and began to walk away with her. The group sighed once they were a good distance away. "How can he put up with her?" Naruto said still grimacing at the thought of them together. Choji shrugged. "The three of us were always together when we were younger. I guess Shikamaru found some way to overlook her faults," he said innocently, then resumed to eating the dango he had.

"He must have trained to gather that much patience. Personally, I find her a nuisance," Neji didn't hesitate to say. Lee was the only one to try and speak up for her. "Yamanaka isn't that bad. She can be very considerate and kind and…" "Yeah IF she ends up getting her way as a result," Naruto muttered. He ignored Lee's outburst of how inconsiderate and rude he was and looked through his book bag for the things needed for Asuma's math class next.

Upon searching, he noticed that he had Sasuke's notes still. "Crap," he mumbled, earning a look of disdain from Choji. "What's wrong Naruto?" His friend asked concern evident. Naruto shook his head.

"I have his bastard-ness's notes still," he groaned. He stood up and gathered his things. "Look, I'll see you guys later," he called out, making his way through the school yard and past the crowd of people.

The three sat there, utterly puzzled at what just happened. "Where is he going?" Lee said confused. Neji shook his head. "Probably somewhere to wreak havoc, as to an animal's nature." The two pals got into a verbal argument as Choji simply looked on where Naruto had disappeared off to before finally biting into a moon pie.

OoOoOoOoOoO

One thing that came in handy while being socially inadequate was the fact that he could easily block out the desperate cries of swooning girls wanting to invite him to eat lunch with them. That was the case right now. Sasuke had barely gotten out the door before a group of females bombarded them, putting on their best smiles and batting their eyes for him to come and sit with them. He had politely declined but they were so persistent!

Now he was practically running away from them, making sharp turns every now and then when it was convenient. In the end, he ended up hiding in the library. The sound of a stampede of girls didn't go unnoticed, and Sasuke was grateful when the echoes grew fainter and fainter until they were nearly a distant call in the wind.

He sighed with relief. After all the years, you would think that he grew used to the attention, but truth be told he wasn't. The moment he was put on notice, he automatically claimed up and proceeded to be distant just to cope with the feeling. It wasn't that he did it purposely mind you, he just didn't know how to react around a group of others. Sasuke stood up from his crouched position at the door.

Casually, he walked around the vacant area, nothing more than a handful of students sitting at tables or checking through books on shelves. Sasuke walked over to an isolated isle and peered through the titles with little interest. After picking on based on old martial art techniques, he sat on the far side of the large area where no one was. By the time he made it to the second chapter, fifteenth page, he heard the distinct sound of a door audibly click then open. Raising his head from the book, he saw nothing more than the torso down of a student.

Ignoring the fact that someone had entered this premises, he returned attention back to the objective before hand.

The quiet steps went throughout the peaceful contour of the building, searching, looking intently for something or someone. Sapphire eyes surveyed the area closely, seeing if he saw the object of his concentration. Making his way to the back, the whiskered-face teen stopped shy of five feet from the person he was looking for.

Naruto didn't want to interrupt the peacefulness that over-flowed from the beauty of Sasuke sitting there, simply reading. The shear elegance of his position, his right legged crossed over his left, left arm resting on the propped knee. His other hand raised just below his face, as his eyes cast down with a look of tranquility. The light radiated around him, giving him a soft, angelic feel. All in all, Naruto thought that maybe an angel had fallen from heaven and had yet to realize it.

He was so entranced that he didn't notice that Sasuke had actually stopped reading and had given the blonde his undivided attention. When the Uchiha prodigy knew that the hard-headed teen wasn't going to answer him anytime soon, he made move to speak first. "What do you want Uzumaki?" he said harshly, bitterness leaking from his voice. Naruto snapped out of the trance, blinking once, twice, and then slowly frowning.

Moving in a few more feet until he was side by side with the sitting man, Naruto handed him the pieces of paper. "These are yours. I forgot to give them back before class ended," he said with the utmost nervousness. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, but remained unshaken by the sudden shift of attitude from earlier. Slowly, he reached for the papers, keeping an eye on the teen as he glided fingers over the paper and carefully withdrew them.

"Thanks…" he said cautiously, unsure what to expect from this new 'courteous' Naruto. The blonde gave him a wide grin, the signature goofiness that he was known for and tucked his hands behind his head. "No problem! Ain't I sweet for reminding ya Sasuke-teme?" Sasuke looked at him incredulously and shook his head. "You're so stupid," he mumbled.

At that, the whiskered-face boy snarled. "Why are you such a… you know what? Forget it." And with that, Naruto did an about-face and started for the door.

Sasuke mentally groaned. _I'm a hopeless case._ He thought to himself. Standing up, he called out to the nick-named 'Usuratonkachi'; "Naruto." Said teen abruptly paused mid-step but refused to turn around. Sasuke gripped the back of the chair he was sitting in tightly, as he stared at Naruto's back. His throat felt dry, constricted, to the point where he felt hoarse and could barely talk. For some odd reason, he inwardly smirked as the thought: _This must be a side-effect from not talking to people that often. _

Finally, he cleared his throat and closed his eyes tightly. "Th… Thanks… Usura-… I mean, Naruto," he said softly, the words tumbling out, sounding foreign to the owner's mouth. The other teen slowly turned around, shock written across his face. The two stared at each other for what seemed like eternity, trying to read and understand what the other meant. Naruto nodded solemnly, then said, "Yeah, don't mention it." After that he made his exit.

The Uchiha looked at the spot a moment longer before finally looking away, a blush beginning to rise on his face. He quickly covered it with his left face. Leaning of the table for support, Sasuke closed his eyes.

_What the hell? What's going on? _The thoughts flickered through his mind, colliding and jumbling together until Sasuke had to sit down. _Think Sasuke, the reason why this is happening… Maybe it's because… Naruto's the first person that actually treated me like I wasn't some sort of unbridled plague. Yeah… that's it. He was the first one too… _Sasuke's eyes snapped open at as the realization hit him as though he was hit by a punch of lightening.

_Naruto was the first person to treat me as though I was someone. He wasn't afraid to talk to me, and wanted me to be his friend. _Even as thought about it, his face felt as though it was burning, and his chest tightened. There was something about Uzumaki Naruto. And Sasuke had a whole month to find out what.

When Naruto walked out of the library, he started to stroll down the hall. As more thoughts of the way Sasuke looked sitting there so peacefully, and the way he mumbled out his thanks with slight embarrassment, made the blonde spiked-haired teen quicken his pace then start to jog. When the scenes of his dream flickered through his mind, he broke of into a full-out run, blushing at the fact that Uchiha Sasuke had intruded his head to the point where Sakura didn't even matter anymore.

OoOoOoOoO

Fourth and Fifth periods were dreary, with the littlest attention being paid by the class. Naruto wasn't the kind to pay that much attention to something he found trivial in the first place, so this wasn't anything new to him. But it did strike him as odd to see that Sasuke Uchiha had his mind on other things. Normally the teen was so collected, but now, it just wasn't all that normal to catch the prodigy dreaming off into Neverland like that.

The look itself made the blonde uneasy, so he took it upon himself to ask if the other teen was okay. The raven-haired teen jumped slightly at the gentle tap to gain his attention then quickly snapped a glaring stare at him. "What do you want you nuisance?" Naruto's eyes widened in both shock and slight uneasiness due to pain at the bitter tone in Uchiha's voice.

Uzumaki shook his head. "Never mind, I just thought that something bothered you. My bad for worrying over something so stupid." He solemnly turned back to do his work. Sasuke sighed a little and reluctantly ignored the other teen.

Nearing the end of the day, Naruto seemed to stress less and less. Granted that he saw Sasuke every now and then, but since today wasn't a 'half-day', they didn't have to worry about spending EVERY class together. But it didn't stop the way Naruto had to behave. It seemed that the little 'tit-for-tat' rule had spread throughout the teacher population in the school, so whenever he began to act upon rude or even thought about it, he was constantly reminded that whatever punishment he was dealt, would result in Uchiha Sasuke being dealt the same hand.

As aggravating as it was, he didn't do anything to cause both of them to get in trouble.

By the time last period was over and school let out, Naruto was exhausted. He decided that since Shikamaru was giving Ino a ride home, he wouldn't chance being in the same area as them. Sighing, he boarded the bus that would take him home. When he entered, he saw just how crowded and stuffed it really was.

_I nearly forgot what it was like to ride a bus._ Naruto looked around for a vacant seat where no one would bother him or give him strange looks. He kept down the isle, ignoring the sudden whispers and judging looks that followed him to a seat in the very back. When he arrived there, he sighed as he sat down.

"I really wish Shika didn't take that broad Ino home," he said mumbling to himself. He stuffed hands down his pockets, reaching for his music player. As he found it, he put the earphones in his ears and turned to one of his favorite songs: My Curse by Killswitch Engage. He closed his eyes as he turned the volume up high so that he could block out the outside world. The last thing he wanted right now was to be bothered by more nuisances and such.

OoO

Sasuke walked out of the school and saw the swarms of 'clicks' as they were called in their own little groups, undisturbed by the others. He sighed. The worst thing about Konoha High was the fact that everyone had to be judged on appearance and attitude. It was always something that bothered him. How can you categorize people as though they were mere tools or objects? That was another thing that made him not want to get close to anyone. He boarded the nearest bus he came in contact with, knowing that all the buses at this school pretty much went everywhere throughout the town.

When he got on, his ears were invaded with the yammering and conversations that awaited him. He looked for the farthest, quietest seat that was there at that moment. Along the way, some people, preferably girls, attempted to have him sit with them, but he scoffed them off and kept walking. It wasn't until he noted that the very back was vacant that he sat down.

He also noticed how the last row before the very back was vacant with no one sitting there. But Sasuke being Sasuke he ignored it. _At least its quiet back here_ he self-proclaimed. He sat back, releasing all the stress that was built up from today. He couldn't believe that he was partnered up with Uzumaki of all people. The very thought made his insides twist and turn with queasiness until he finally just thought to forget the whole thing and let it go. Kakashi would get what was coming to him soon enough.

The Uchiha closed his eyes, feeling calm and relaxed. This was the first time he felt this way all day. He closed his eyes and thought about what to do once he got home. Of course the first thing to do was change out of these school clothes, then grab a small snack, do homework, study for a good hour and a half, do the chores that he was assigned for the week, maybe watch some television or get on the computer, help Itachi with dinner, take a nice hot shower, sleep and start the process all over again. He sighed.

_I have such a plain boring life_, he finally admitted dejectedly. However, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard music to his right. Opening one obsidian eye, he looked over and nearly had a heart attack. Beside him on the other side of the seat was the bane of his existence. He had his head reclined back on the headrest, eyes closed. He seemed to be listening to heavy rock from the sound of it. Sasuke shook his head. He was more like a jazz person.

He honestly didn't know what to do. He sat there staring at him; as though at any given moment Naruto would notice that he was there and attack him. Sasuke then sighed and leaned against the window, looking outside of it with aimless purpose. For some reason it didn't really bother him that he was sitting as close to him as he was.

Sasuke sighed once more. Why couldn't he just say something polite to the blonde at least once? Why did he have to, in the other's choice of words, have a stick up his ass 24/7? He thought about trying once, but it just didn't seem to feel right somehow. Glancing back at the other, he saw how peaceful the whiskered-teen looked. He seemed to look as though he didn't have a single care in the world. As though he were still so pure and innocent and content with what life had to offer him. The Uchiha smirked before realizing what was going on. He willed those thoughts away. He didn't want to think about him, not again.

For the past month or so, he had recurring dreams, each on involving the blonde's heated breath, his warm skin pressed and rubbed on his, the way he held him in his arms… It was too much! The bus came to an abrupt stop, jumping and causing him to rock forward and to the side rather violently.

He opened his eyes and found himself leaning on a heavy figure. It felt oddly comforting, as if he were a kid again being held in Itachi's arms whenever he was frightened by the thunderstorms or when their parents would fight. He basked in it a little longer before he felt himself being shrugged off. "What are you doing teme?" came the heated, raspy voice of an angry/flustered Naruto.

Sasuke jumped up, looking at the other who gave him a snarl and glare. "What do you think I am? You tryin' to tell me something?" Sasuke felt a swarm of anger rise up from deep inside. "As if dobe! Even if I was, what makes you think that you're even worth my time?" he bit out. Naruto's eyes widened before narrowing back.

"Just get off of me!"

"I'm trying!"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Shut up! I'm moving Usuratonkachi!"

Finally the prodigy was back on his respective side, glaring out the window at an invisible object. The ride after that was full of silence. Suddenly the unthinkable happened. Naruto talked to him as though he were civilized.

"Ne, teme?"

Sasuke scoffed. "What?"

"About our project for Kakashi-sensei…"

"Yeah? What of it?"

"…"

"Well?"

"… I was thinking…"

"About?"

"It's kind of stupid… Especially with our current… relationship and such…"

"Oh? I'll bet if it's coming from you," Uchiha bit out coldly, laughing bitterly.

"… Forget it," Naruto said as though he were having a fit.

Sasuke didn't respond to him after that comment. He was actually wondering what it was, considering that he didn't have anything to do the project on. If it were just him by himself then it wouldn't have been a problem, but when you're with someone else as well it was a bit more difficult because you had to be open in communication, something he was never good at.

He sighed. "… Oi, Dobe."

"Yeah?"

"What WAS your plan anyway?" He said still looking out the window.

"…"

Sasuke sighed. "I won't make fun of you."

"You serious?"

"… Yeah."

"Well…" Naruto started, still worried that the raven-haired teen would go back on his word. "Since we need to be together a lot, why not do reports on how each other live? Like we can visit each other's house every other week and take notes on each other's life style."

Sasuke was honestly impressed. He hadn't thought about that. Kakashi never gave any distinct project, only that it had to be a report and that it had to be about your partner and you. That brought on a bunch of broad topics in and of it. But Naruto, to his astonishment, had already thought up a project that could be done within the month and that wasn't too idiotic nor to overbearing. They just had to visit each other's house and learn about each other's life…

Wait a minute.

The Uchiha suddenly felt uneasy about the Usuratonkachi's idea. Visit each other's house? Observe the other's life style? That was like an invasion of privacy if he thought about it. Sasuke didn't want the person he couldn't stand to know about his life! He could barely stand him in school!

But it was either that or the consequence, and seeing as how Kakashi made the whole "Naruto-does-something-equals-the-same-punishment-for-Sasuke" double edged sword thing he didn't want to think of the repercussions that would follow. He swallowed his pride this one time and nodded, saying a dry, "Fine. We can start… Wednesday," he said slowly.

He didn't really think that they should start so soon. The anti-social teen needed time to prepare: for both his home and his sanity. Plus he had to let Itachi know about what would be happening for the next month so that his elder wouldn't worry about anything. Two days should be enough to prepare him.

Naruto sighed. He seemed relieved. "Alright then, so who's first?" He asked in his goofiness that made the Uchiha cringe and want to forget the whole thing. "Well it's your idea. You go first," the socially inept teen said, still looking outside the window. Naruto gawked. "No way! We can't go to my house first!" he blurted out.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and nothing more. "And why not?" he asked with feigned curiosity. Naruto gritted his teeth. "B-because! I brought up the idea, least you can do is start it off!" The Uchiha laughed coldly. "As if," he stated. "But that's not fair teme! I have to prepare!" Naruto started to whine. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Then do that today and tomorrow dobe," he said not caring for the other's temper-tantrum. The blonde sulked and sat low in his seat. "But I'm busy today! I would have to clean the house, go grocery shopping, fix up a palate for you, let Iruka know, see if he's okay with it…" Sasuke sighed. "You make it seem like your preparing for an execution," he said with dry humor.

Uzumaki mumbled something in the lines of: "Might as well be." Sasuke felt an eyebrow twitch as he turned towards him. "Get over it Uzumaki! We have to work together on this or they'll be hell to pay! I won't get dragged down by you just because you want to be lazy!" he yelled out haughtily, earning a few people looking towards the back with curious eyes. Sasuke groaned. _Great, now they'll be listening._

He looked over at Naruto to see the other with a strange look, like sadness mixed with anger and he sighed. "Fine. We'll go to my house to start this off. But don't act like a pig in front of my brother," he whispered, his teeth gritted together as he seethed out the words. Naruto smiled and nodded. "Sure thing teme! I'll be on my best behavior!" he said leaning back casually.

Sasuke gawked. _Did he just…? Did he just swindle me?_ Sasuke once again for the second time today mentally face-palmed and leaned back in the seat as well_. I should have made it next week… _he mentally groaned out, not at all enthused by the turn of events.

OoOoOoOoO

Naruto had made his way into the house. When he was there he noticed that Iruka still hadn't come home yet. The notion didn't really faze him; he knew that the elder now had to work double shifts to make ends meet. Naruto didn't like it, but whenever he brought up the idea to get a part-time job the scarred face man would force his hand and tell him no. He never understood the reason behind it, and it aggravated him to see his guardian come home so tired and exhausted every day.

He sighed and went upstairs, dropping his bag on the floor when he made his way in and lay down on the bed with a _thud! _Naruto looked nonchalantly at the ceiling, not really focusing on it. There was something else that he was contemplating on. Something that made him feel sort of uneasy. The blonde looked at the ceiling a little longer then finally sat back up. He made his way over to his dresser picking out some clothes he could wear around the house.

Uzumaki kept his ripped and faded jeans on, but replaced his school shirt and black T-shirt with an orange one that had a fox-like demon on it with nine-tails. When he finished changing he went down stairs and turned on the television to some sort of action movie. He walked into the kitchen and fixed himself a cup of instant ramen before walking back into the living room.

Sitting, he lounged back and watched with no true interest at the box. He couldn't get over how today went. It seemed to have happened much to fast for his taste. He had been the hyper-active, eccentric, knuckle-head since he was born. So now that he had to act a certain way just because of a teacher and someone else, it made him feel like he couldn't be himself anymore. That feeling swarmed in his gut making him feel nauseas and strained.

When he was done eating, he reclined down into the sofa, lying down as he propped his feet on the arm of the couch and laid his head on a nearby pillow. His mind began to wonder aimlessly, simply enjoying the peacefulness he felt that he didn't have the pleasure of experiencing at all today. Soon he felt weightless, his mind fuzzed and blurry of mixed thoughts that clouded all real sense at the moment. That was when he began to dream.

_He was in a room that he had never seen before. Looking to the left he saw a symbol, like a fan that was red on the top and white on the bottom. He began to wander in his mind: That is the Uchiha symbol. Where am I exactly? His crystal irises cast over to the scrolls and scripts that were placed in a neat and distinct pattern above some sort of shrine. This can't be… his mind was trying to come to some sort of conclusion as to where he was, but then stopped abruptly when the door to this room he resided in opened. _

"_Did you wait to long?" he heard the voice ask, the tone of it teasing and sultry._

_The blonde felt weird. What was going on? Before he could stop himself from saying it, he heard himself say, "Yeah, but it's worth it." The receiver of the words smiled before making their way over to him. The person knelt before him, looking up with mischievous and desiring eyes. God, that look made him melt every time he saw it. "In that case, I will make sure that the wait was worth it," they said before pale white hands began to fumble with the zipper of his pants._

_Naruto gawked. What was this person doing? He couldn't move, couldn't push them away for the life of him. All he could do at this point was sit and watch, a heat started to grow in the pool of his stomach. The person undoing the button of his pants looked at him with a seductive look, eyes still shining with desire and a smirk now present on their lips. "My brother said that he'll be gone a while. That gives us plenty of time," they said, lust evident in their voice. A chill of desire swept through Naruto's body. "Perfect for us," he heard himself say as he tilted his head and watched the other lower their head and grabbed his zipper with their teeth, eyes never leaving his as they chuckled and pulled it down completely. _

_That was when the whiskered-teen realized just how turned on he was. His hormones were raging and he felt his body grow ever hotter by the second. The other chuckled once more, pulling out his cock teasingly. The person slipped out their pick appendage from their mouth, flickering it cover the head gently before pulling away. A low growl came from Naruto's throat as he shivered wantonly at the other. "Don't tease. You know I hate that," he said lowly. The other pouted playfully before gently running their tongue again over the head and then running it down the length._

_Uzumaki's mouth fell agape at the action, panting quietly as the person ran their tongue around the tip to the base, nipping here and there before finally putting it inside their mouth. Naruto arched into the hot, wet cavern, gasping and whispering words of love. He was rewarded by the tightening, sucking sensation of the person swallowing and relaxing their throat muscles, taking him in deeper. Naruto grabbed a handful of raven locks. "Omigoddon'tstopdoingthat," he blurted out as he arched hesitantly into the willing mouth. The person merely gave a sound of surprise but nothing more. Naruto began to slowly thrust in and out of the hot mouth, loving the feeling of pressing against the roof of the other's moist cavern. A tongue would occasionally rub against his cock but nothing more as the person complied silently with his actions; raising and lowering their head when needed._

_Naruto had never felt so… high off of the thrill, the exoticness that was this. He moaned deeply and arched again, the other quickly relaxing their gag reflex and taking him in. He growled at the action, mercilessly starting to literally 'fuck their mouth' as he grabbed their head for support and thrusting rather harshly. Groans and the occasional grunt was all that came from the mouth as Naruto neared his climax. He thrust again then again before his eyes opening widely and his mouth slackened, shouting as his seed released and poured into the accepting mouth that slurped and sucked it all up. He continued to cum, feeling incredibly high and intoxicated, moaning out the other's name. He gently rubbed their head, whispering over and over, "Sasuke… Sasuke…" _

_He looked down, lazy-eyed at the other man who smirked and ran his tongue rather seductively over his lips, licking up any cum that may have escaped his mouth and chuckled._

"Naruto… NARUTO!" The sound of his name being yelled out jolted him from his sleep. Blue eyes snapped open as he jumped up and looked around. Standing over him was his guardian, a cranky and exhausted look on his face. The blonde yawned and stretched. "Hey Iruka, when did you get in?" he said drowsily, looking around with slackening eyes at his surroundings. The older man sighed. "I just got in. Clean up this mess Naruto," he said displeased and tired.

The whiskered teen looked up at the other rather concerned. "You okay? You seem more exhausted than usual," he said cautiously as he cleaned up the ramen and other things he may have left lying around. The scarred-face man grunted before sitting down. "My boss is over-working me again," he said running a hand through his profusely messed up locks. Iruka leaned back, his head resting against the back of the sofa.

Naruto growled at the response. "Why does he always do that? He's out to get it, I swear! You should just quit that damn job," he said grumbling now agitated. Iruka shook his head. "No, no Naruto. Don't say that. I need this job to help pay the mortgage," he said stretching. Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Wouldn't have to worry about this if you would just let me get a part-time job," he mumbled, but it didn't go unheard. Iruka frowned at the comment, giving him a displeased look. "You know how I feel about that Naruto…" Naruto cut in on him.

"I know I know. You circumscribe about the whole thing every time!" He said with a brusque voice. Iruka sighed. He didn't want Naruto to work just because of him. He gave the younger one a fixed affable look. "Don't worry about that Naruto. I'll try my best to support both of us. Not only that, but I'm thinking about taking off a few personal days to myself. Perhaps we can go somewhere then," he said to the teen.

Uzumaki smiled and plopped down next to him on the seat. "Yeah! We can go to a resort or something!" He said, honestly ecstatic about the whole thing. Iruka nodded and nothing more. Naruto gave him a grave look before standing up once more. "Why don't you just sit here and I'll make you something to eat?" he said already beginning to walk over to the kitchen. Iruka smiled cordially. "Thank you Naruto," he said with the utmost sincerity.

Naruto paused when he reached the kitchen. _I'll tell him after he eats about the project_ Naruto thought, grunting in approval to the idea.

OoOoOoOoO

Sasuke reached his home around 4 that afternoon. He took off his shoes and placed them by the door, as to his tradition. When he was home, his elder was already there sitting at the table writing down scripts apparently to his next novel. He looked up when Sasuke was close enough and said a mild, "Konbawa Sasuke-kun."

A grunt in response was his answer. Itachi gave a fixed look towards him once more before going back to writing. During the silence, Sasuke went further through the houses' to change from his school uniform into a form fitting black long sleeve shirt with a low-cut v-neck. For pants, he wore navy blue slacks. He folded his clothes for the next day and put up his book bag, taking out today's homework and immediately getting started on it not soon after. Calculus, Ancient History, Physiology, College English, it was all so much to do. Not that he minded the work; it allowed him to get tied into that instead of something more; something that apparently, he didn't really want to go.

He was half-way finished through Physiology when he heard the distinct sound of a knock on his bedroom door. His eyes flickered over to the door from his desk as it clicked open before slowly swaying wider and wider until his brother stood there with a letter in his hand. Itachi leaned against the door-pane and folded his arms across his chest, the letter dangling between thimble fingers. Sasuke didn't bother acknowledging him and turned back around to finish up his work.

"Tou-san and kaa-san said they're worried for you. They asked if you're okay," was his brother's low deepening voice. Sasuke grunted. "I don't really care," he said, eyes never leaving the book and hand never faltering from writing. Itachi sighed. "You have to write them something back or they'll think that you are being held here against your will. They'll come here and take you back home Sasuke," he said. Sasuke said nothing for a while, and then cleared his throat. "Tell them that I'm busy with school and projects," he finally admitted.

Itachi's eyes slightly widened. "Projects? What kind?" he asked now a bit curious. Sasuke shrugged. "Nothing big. Just have to work with a partner and go to their house," he said off-handedly. He didn't wish to go into detail about the whole thing; in fact he didn't want to talk about it at all. But now that he brought it up, there was no way that Itachi would let him just drop it. "Oh? Seems to me that you are finally being able to interact with someone. This is good," his brother said evenly. Sasuke frowned at his work.

Itachi had always tried to make him interact with other people. But because of his condition it was damn near impossible. "I'm not doing this because I want to Itachi, it's because I have to. Besides, they partnered me with someone I hate to the very depths of my soul," he grumbled almost inaudibly. But his brother heard him perfectly. "Well, this is all the more reason to do it. Maybe you to can get closer by doing this assignment. You might find out that they're not as bad as you once thought them to be," his brother said.

Sasuke finally turned around, anger and resentment in his eyes. "I don't WANT to get to know him! He's an ass and doesn't know how to behave! He's rebellious and egocentric and just plain idiotic! I hate that guy!" He seethed. Itachi tilted his head once more, black irises gazing over his otouto's expression before a small smile grazed his lips. "You must really want to be this guy's friend," he said with humor in his voice. Sasuke's eyes widened considerably.

"Did you just hear what I said? I DON'T want to be his friend. I can't stand him!" he said getting more and more irritated. Itachi honestly chuckled at his brother's behavior. "Sasuke, I know you more than you know yourself. You don't bother to talk about someone if you didn't like them. Usually you would just avoid the whole matter, not even acknowledging the person at all in the conversation. Not only that, but you seem to get flustered and are quick to defending yourself, something that you never do unless you like this person, foolish otouto, " Itachi said in a matter-of-fact tone.

The raven-haired teen ran a hand through his hair. He never knew that he did that. Normally he would just leave it be, but for some reason he became outraged and lashed out. "I don't do that," he said modestly, the words mostly a murmur. Itachi laughed. "You said the same thing about Shisui and then the same for Ayame. Face it Sasuke, this person some how really attached their selves onto you," his brother said.

The younger Uchiha refused to believe. He didn't want to admit that he wanted to be the Usuratonkachi's friend. It was something he wouldn't be able to live with. He sighed deeply, trying to accumulate himself. "It doesn't matter. When this whole thing is over I'm never talking to him again," he said with a stern tone of resentment. Itachi frowned.

"Sasuke…"

"No, I don't want to hear it."

"…"

"Don't stand there behind me like you pity me. I'm fine with the way I am."

"… If that's what you believe."

"It is… I have to do my homework."

"Alright. I'm getting dinner started. Anything you want?"

"… Something with tomatoes in it."

"Fine," then his brother turned around and to leave. But before he forgot, he called out, "Call mom. She wants to talk to you." Sasuke sighed in response before going back to work. He didn't want to talk to her. She was one of the reasons why he was the way he is! He reclined in his seat, unable to focus at all now. Was there anyone he knew that could actually understand him? His eyes closed, not trying to really reflect on anything.

Suddenly, his mind started to form a figure. It was blurry at first, but then it began to become more and clearer. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a cheeky grin, and whiskered cheeks. His eyes snapped open at the realization. He was thinking about the dumb blonde.

Sasuke ran a hand through raven-spiked locks and stared at his Family symbol above his desk. It didn't make sense how one person could disrupt his mind like this. Honestly, this had never happened before. He slumped over on his desk, trying his damndest and failing miserably to not think about the hard-headed, pompous, self-deluded blonde. Finally he just closed his eyes and laid his arms on each other on top of his desk and then laid his head down.

"Damn it. That Usuratonkachi… I don't know what to do. I'm starting to regret this whole thing," he mumbled to himself, rising from his seat to then join his brother down the hall for dinner.


	2. Getting to know you Better

**A/N: Another chapter! I forgot to mention, when I started this story it was before I knew all the stuff going on in the Shippuden world and I wanted to include some of that stuff like… I dunno… Sai. :/ Anyway, we all know I couldn't EVER afford to own these characters on my budget. But I do own Fuyumi-sensei. She works for free. **

**Chapter Two: Getting to know you better**

The next day began the same in the household of Uzumaki Naruto. He woke up, showered, got dressed, and ate breakfast, fussed with his guardian, then left for school and locking up.

However, when he made it to school, there was something he hadn't expected. There seemed to be uproar. Naruto, tapping into his inner curiosity, went over to Neji, Lee, and Choji who stood on the side line with small idle chat over the situation.

"Yo, what's going on!" asked the blonde when he was close enough to start a conversation. Choji waved at him, his mouth to preoccupy to answer. Neji folded his arms and frowned. "Figures, he comes up to us without as much as a 'good morning' and then expects us to tell him what's going on. You are quite the character, Uzumaki," Hyuga said sardonically. Naruto sneered. "Morning then! Now tell me what's going on!" he said, already disconcert this early in the day.

Lee piped up. "We have transfer student's Naruto! They were supposed to be here yesterday, but they came today!" he said rather optimistically. Both Naruto and Neji shook their heads. Rock Lee was always the kind of person to want to make friends; rather they were yakuza members or probably even mass-murderers. At any rate, now Naruto's interest was peeked and he wondered just who the transfer students were exactly. He tried to look over the swarm of people, past the immense crowds that swarmed the unknown people then turned to his friends. "Did you get a good look at'em?" he said, trying to see once more.

Neji's voice was the first to be heard. "Not really, but I saw that one of them was carrying something that looked rather heavy. Like some kind of… giant gourd," he said, the tone of his voice filled with incredulity. Lee tapped his chin. "I saw that too. And there was also one with a fan-shaped backpack and another with miniature… puppets… decorated all over his backpack," he said. Naruto arched an eyebrow. Gourds? Fans? Puppets? Just who were these people? Choji audibly swallowed whatever he was eating then said, "I saw some more people that got off of that bus. They looked kind of intimidating," he mentioned.

That last part made all the young men look his way. "Intimidating you said? How so?" Neji piqued. Choji shrugged. "It was the way they carried themselves. They had this look to them, like they were ready to kill whoever walked up to them," he said, opening a bag of barbeque chips. Before another question could be asked, the crowds were broken up by teachers and administrators, hurrying the teens to their classes.

Naruto sighed. He began walking towards the front of the school with the other's parting way upon arriving. The blonde waved a flippant hand towards them. "Oi, see you all at lunch. Make sure you save a seat this time!" He called out, making his way through the school grounds according to where today's classes were. They weren't the same as yesterdays. Every other day the schedule would repeat, like how yesterday schedule isn't repeated until Wednesday or Thursday. He never questioned the way they made it, just went along.

As he made a turn down another seemingly endless hallway, he managed to bump into someone. He looked up, wide eyed at who stood before him. He hadn't seen this person before, as long as he'd been here. They had dark red hair, ruffled and untamed but short like his. The person wasn't in uniform, so he had to assume that either he was a rebellious student or a new one.

The person snorted and glared down his nose at the blonde. "Hey, don't they teach you all matters here? I thought more from Konoha, insolent kid," he said as he began to walk on. Naruto was about to comment on the other's malicious remark, but stopped once he noticed something peculiar. On the person's backpack were… puppets. There were different kinds of miniature puppets that dangled and shook when he walked. Naruto gave him a look of curiosity but kept walking.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. _That must've been one of the new recruits that came in today_ he couldn't help but think. The guy acted as though he were those uptight, no nonsense people. Just what was needed; another pain in the ass elder who thought that the whole frickin' world seemed to revolve around them and that they demanded the utmost respect. Well he was in for a big surprise here.

OoOoO

Sasuke didn't know what the big deal was concerning these people. So what, their new? It didn't seem to really peek his interest. They probably were the kind of people who thought they were superior to everyone else, the kind of people he hated. Along his way he saw yet another, yet somewhat secluded, group of people on the side of the school wall where people wouldn't think of looking. As he got closer he noticed that they were mostly females hoarding over yet another female. _A cat fight?_ He thought as he walked by.

However, when he was in view to see whomever it was they reached out for him. Startled, he tried to withdraw himself from the grasp but to no avail. This caused the other girls to go angry with envy and jealousy. The girl who grabbed him looked odd, with the glasses and red eyes that matched her hair. Not only that, but it seemed to him that her hair wasn't in order, one side untamed and wild whilst the other side was neatly combed and kept up.

"Sasuke-kun! I'm so glad that I found you!" She called out, being highly flirtatious for some reason that made him want to gag. He gave her a look of apathy before trying to pry loose from the venomous grasp. When that all failed, he sighed and closed his eyes, stress beginning to build up. Why were there the 'persistent' fan girls? The kind that would stop at nothing to gain the attention of the person they wished to immerse their selves in.

The girl continued to talk, the voice annoyingly high-pitched and shrill that it grated his nerves to the very core. He remembered her from some place before, though it was last year. Yes, once he thought about it, she was being bombarded and over-crowded with people who wanted to pound her face in then as well.

_She must have a knack for pissing people off then_, he couldn't help but think tot himself. The young Uchiha began to walk away, though it was difficult considering how he now had 'dead weight' that pulled him down. By the time he made a good twenty feet from the angry, wailing females, the one that had a hold on him smiled and wrapped arms around his torso rather seductively, attempting to seduce him.

"Sasuke-kun, thank you for helping me back there. They were going to kill me for sure this time!" she laughed belligerently. Sasuke attempted to stop from wincing. He grunted.

"Wasn't really trying to help you," he said blatantly.

She seemed to disregard that comment, not wanting to listen. "You're so mean at times!" she laughed callously. Sasuke had enough of being in the pests presences. He slowed his stroll until he reached a complete halt, causing the young woman to bump into him due to her obliviousness.

Before she could comment, red eyes opened exponentially in shock and fear. The said Uchiha slowly turned around, anger, irritation, and stressfulness evident before his now bright red eyes that had a lazy pattern of three black swirls that formed a triangular pentagram and a black circle in the middle. "Back off," he said, hostile all the more evident to notice by now.

Now, those who didn't know about the Uchiha 'curse' would think that upon seeing such eyes that the person with said heritage was a demon of some sort. But it was rather far from the case. You see, when the Uchiha clan is pent up with excessive stress or anger, their blood conjugates some sort of irritation inside the internal circulatory system. The only way to vent it out is through outburst of such reaction. For the Uchiha clan that would be through their eyes. Not only does it enhance the senses, but it also always the owner to see ten times as much as they would without the eyes. It is genetically passed down, the way it came to be still a mystery.

Sasuke glared at the source of his stress for all it was worth. The girl seemed to close in on herself and quickly scurried away, not saying another word. When he saw that she was completely gone he sighed, the stress level lowering and his blood recoiling back to its stable state. It seemed to be just in time as well, because no sooner had he done that, did the other source of his animosity towards the world show itself.

"Yo! Sasuke-teme!" came the all too hyper call of a certain blonde pain in his side. He groaned, both internally and externally. Naruto ran up to him, and then bent over trying to catch his breath. Sasuke honestly didn't know nor did he care what the big hurry was. But once the other teen caught his breath and looked up at him, he changed his resolute all together.

Naruto smiled wide and said a still semi-tired, "Iruka said you can come over! I'm going shopping today for groceries for Wednesday so I just wanted to know what it is you… I dunno…. Liked to eat or something," he said, suddenly loosing altitude as he continued talking.

Sasuke blinked once. Then again. And finally a third time. Finally, he shrugged. "It doesn't matter. As long as it isn't sweet I guess." The blonde raised an eyebrow. "You don't like sweets, teme?" he said, a bit taken back. The raven sighed and felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance. "Don't act so surprised dobe. No, I don't like sweet foods… If anything… Tomatoes…" he said, somewhat murmuring the last part. It didn't go unheard by the other though.

"Tomatoes? Cool! Iruka has plenty of those at home! That makes things easier for me cuz now I don't have to worry about spending so much money or walking around the store in a daze!" he said laughing. Sasuke 'tch'ed and began to walk to class. The approaching footsteps that followed after him made him grimace. "What now dobe?" he said becoming more and more annoyed by the other's presence.

The blonde honestly didn't know why he was following him. But since he was, he thought that maybe he should _**try**_ to spark up some friendly conversation. "Did you hear about the new students that transferred here?" he said meekly. Sasuke could only nod. "There said to be ambassadors from their school in another district," he said casually. Inwardly, it shocked him to see how easily it was to talk to the other without it resulting to violence.

Sasuke only shrugged at the new bit of information. "I don't care. Having people from other schools at ours is a nuisance," he spat out, face fixed with a look of indifference and meaningless anger. Naruto scratched the back of his head, taken back a little when the raven haired boy voiced his opinion. "What's wrong with that? I think its cool actually!" he piped up at the end, his grin ever wider and full of excitement that made Sasuke sneer.

"Enlighten me dobe, what's so "cool" about that?" he said, purposely mocking the blonde by the way he tried to so 'cool' in the same hyper-like voice. Naruto folded his arms and shot him a glare. "You get to learn new things about them. I have a belief that living in a place filled with people just like you is bad, 'cuz you get bored. No one wants to hang around those who have the same things as they do. So having people from another district come over brings excitement! 'Tebayo!" he said, honestly pleased with the way he explained himself.

The other glanced over at the blonde and grunted. He was right in a way. No one would want to be trapped in a place like Konohagakure without **some **excitement, you could go crazy. Sasuke chuckled a little at the latter part, earning a look from the latter. "What's so funny, teme?" he said. Uchiha shook his head. "Nothing…" he said dryly. It was weird, but not discomforting. The way they talked and just had a normal conversation without trying to rip each other's head off was… nice. They did argue from time to time, but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day either. By the time they finished their little conversing, it was time for class and each quickly ran for it before the second bell sounded.

Fuyumi-sensei's Science class wasn't all that hard, so long as you paid attention, didn't talk unless told, didn't eat or drink, didn't use profanity, and put all electronics away from view. When the two entered (which just so happened to be right before the bell sounded) they made their way to two empty seats in the area. Fuyumi-sensei seemed to catch onto what was happening, because she quickly turned around from the board and snapped her fingers, causing the class to jump up nervously and see what was happening.

The thin woman looked at the duo and smirked with ill-intent evident on her waned face. "Oh no you two. I got the memo, so from now on, you are sitting together." Sasuke's eyes widened a small bit, and then narrowed considerably as he shot Naruto a dirty glare. The blonde on the other hand was to busy gawking to notice.

Was she serious? Why was everyone putting up such a fuss about the whole thing? He grumbled as the woman pointed to a pair of desks in the back of the room.

As they slowly dragged their way to the back, constant snickers and murmurs were heard. Woes of pity and sadness came from the female population as they watched their beloved Sasuke make way to the back of the room, knowing that they wouldn't be able to look at him during the first period.

Once the two were in their designated seats, Fuyumi snickered and turned back to the board, continuing from where she left off. It didn't seem to make matters all that great; both of the boys feeling rather uncomfortable when people looked back every now and again to look at them with curious, heated, or just blank stares.

Naruto took out a notepad and pencil, beginning to head the paper and get to work. However, once again when he looked at the board he was disheartened. The words looked entirely illegible from his seat.

'_What's wrong with me?'_ he thought as he squinted and leaned forward. After failing to make out the notes, he turned to his teammate who was working diligently.

Sasuke had completely blocked out Naruto once he reached his seat, not believing that he was now literally tied to the dobe while at school. Frustrated, he work down his notes, neatly and legibly while he thought of a way to make the blonde pay dearly for dragging him down along with the idiot. A light tapping snapped him out of his anger filled moment as he glared to his right and saw cerulean eyes look into his dark irises with concern. He blinked only once, not knowing what could have brought such an expression on the other's face.

"What?" he bit out coldly to him.

Naruto gestured to the board with his head before asking the ice prince, "can you read what's up their?"

Sasuke felt his eyes twitch before his glare intensified. "What are you talking about? Of course I can!" he whispered loathingly, not wanting to get in trouble. The whiskered teen lowered his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. Leaving the paled-skinned boy alone, he groaned miserably and tucked his head in his arms, placing them on the cool surface of the desk.

Uchiha didn't know what to do. He wasn't one to know how to comfort those in need, seeing as he secluded himself from others. But for some reason, seeing the blonde like this didn't sit well with him. The tell-tale signs of the look of defeat, the depressed sigh, and the sad, puppy-dog eyes made him inwardly cringe as he felt his eyes twitch and chest pang. Was he honestly saying that something was wrong with himself? That made the raven-haired teen sigh in discomfort as he shifted through his notes and yet again placed them on the other's desk.

Naruto looked up and blue eyes widened as he saw the papers, handwriting completely readable and neat, placed on his desk. He looked over at him, only to see that Sasuke had blocked him out to do the assignment that was given to him. It then struck him; the only reason that Sasuke would do this was simply because they were stuck together. That was okay with him though; he still smiled thoughtfully as he wrote a note down (sloppily) and placed it on his desk.

Sasuke glanced over as he saw the note and looked over to the nicknamed 'knuckle-head' before picking it up and reading it. The note was simple, put in Naruto language; filled with that same snide and smart remark, but it still made Sasuke smirk as he shook his head and scanned it over.

_Maybe you're not such an ass after all teme. But I still can't stand you. 'Tebayo._

A pale hand discreetly wrote something back before putting it on the original owner's desk and getting back to work as though he did nothing at all. Naruto on the other hand, widened his eyes when he saw that teme had written something back to him. He opened it and couldn't help but grin. The neat writing mixed with the smart-ass reserve that could only be Sasuke made him want to laugh but he kept it in.

_Hn, to bad I can't say the same about you, Usuratonkachi. Don't think I'm getting soft or anything, dobe. Get back to work before we both get in trouble._

Naruto tucked the note away, smiling with more excitement than he could have thought of having before jotting down the notes and doing his work with more fervor.

Once first period was over, the class started to clear out bit by bit. Sasuke tried to be on of the last to leave, seeing as he didn't like the hustle and bustle that the students tended to bring whenever in a hurry to leave to their next class. He honestly didn't see what the rush was, all the classes was a mere five-minute or less walk away. Shaking his head, he started to pack up his things, not once paying the whiskered-teen any attention.

Naruto on the other hand wanted to hurry and leave. But after seeing how the door was crowded with teens trying to force their way through, he gave up on that ambition. He finished packing his things, noticing that he had Sasuke's notes in his position again. Blue eyes looked to his left as he watched the Uchiha put his things away in careless fashion. Uzumaki couldn't get over how the porcelain-like skin shimmered against the sunshine's radiance. At times he honestly thought that maybe Sasuke wasn't from Earth, but some majestic island far away.

'_Whoa, there Naruto! You are not thinking that teme is… __**Sexy!**__ No way in hell!' _he mentally scolded himself for ever having put the thought in his mind. Ridding away the thoughts, he gathered the papers before clearing his thought to return them to their original owner.

Sasuke looked up, his black irises locking onto shining blue ones. "Here ya go teme! Thanks again for lending me your notes… Again," he said, looking down at the last of his sentence. Uchiha scoffed in off-handedly as he snatched them away; closing his eyes as he said a haughty, "Don't thank me. I'm only doing this to watch out for my grades, dobe. I don't need you pulling me down." Dragging out a something between and snarl and a groan, Naruto rolled his eyes and picked up his bag.

"You really are a piece of work teme. It must be hard work keeping that stick jammed up your ass all hours of the day," he bit out bitterly before making his way to the exit. Sasuke honestly felt offended by that one. This remark didn't sound like the heated, in the moment snide reply. It felt as if there was hurt behind the dark words that seemed to strike a cord deep in the Uchiha. He watched as Naruto left, eyes still slightly wide as the blonde disappeared for the doorway.

Raven-colored bangs hung low, covering the young man's eyes as he furrowed his brow and frowned at no one in particular. They were doing well earlier; Naruto had even had the courtesy to ask him what he wanted in particular during the home-stay so that the young Uchiha felt more comfortable. He shook his head as he grabbed his bag and hoisted it over his shoulders. "Whatever," he mumbled out as he left the room, walking slowly to his next class knowing full well he would have to fact the blonde there as well.

OoOoOoO

Gym was taught by none other than Might Guy, or Guy-sensei. The overly energetic really didn't have many fans, unless you counted the equally enthralled Rock Lee. They were like the dynamic duo or something whenever they were in the same area. This was where the class was now, groaning as they stood in the gymnasium and listening to yet another tired lecture of endurance from the man. No one seemed into it, except for Lee who was becoming a bit emotional by words like 'Determination', 'Perseverance', and of course something along the lines of 'Springtime of Youth' (no one paid attention nor had any clue what he meant by _that_).

Once the lecture was over, he blew his whistle, jarring some of the students who dozed off awake. "All~right class! I hope that motivated you all to do well in today's class!" He said, voice booming with enthusiasm. Everyone mumbled or groaned out their responses. Lee threw a fist into the air, saying an equally enthused: "Yes sir! I will do my best today!" That little boost was all Might needed before ushering the teens into the locker rooms so that they could change up.

In the locker room, Naruto sighed yet again as he began to raise and take off his shirt. Shikamaru gave him a worried stare. "Dude, if you keep doing that, _I'm_ gonna be depressed for you," he said nudging the blonde. Naruto smirked a little before he made eye contact with his friend. "Sorry, just… I dunno…. Bummed?" he said putting on the gym shirt and working on changing out of his pants. Shikamaru folded his school uniform and placed it into the locker before answering. "Bummed? Why?" he queried.

At this all Naruto could do **was** shrug. He didn't have a good answer for that honestly. It just seemed that he was down since Sasuke yet again put him down. Truthfully, it normally didn't bother him this much. But **now**, now that they were going to be doing a project together and that they had to look out for each other while in class you would think that the anti-social bastard would at least _try_ to get along!

Thinking about this only made the blonde go from sad to peeve. He was trying his best to make amends as only he could, but it was like there was a giant wall there when it came to Sasuke. Shaking his head, Naruto said a shallow, "I don't really know. Maybe I'm growing soft." Shikamaru chuckled at the response but left it at that. Waiting for Naruto to put his clothes in the locker, the pessimistic teen saw in his peripheral Kiba and Lee walked towards them.

"Ready to go? Lee said that Guy is having us run the track five times outside!" the wild young man boasted, giving the two a cheeky grin of determination. Everyone knew what that meant; Kiba was about to challenge someone to see who would finish first. "Who wants a race? First one to the end has to buy the loser lunch for two weeks," Inuzuka said gruffly. He eyed the group closely, looking for one of them to cave even in the slightest.

Lee, though driven, didn't want to risk the chance of loosing when he barely had enough money for his own lunch. "I would love to Kiba, but I can't risk it with my current income," he said, feeling a little saddened he couldn't partake in the challenge. Kiba nodded and looked at Shikamaru who immediately raised his hands in defense. "Hey, I know I'm not that fast. I won't even put up a fight, it's too troublesome," he replied in monotone. That only left Uzumaki. Kiba eyed him down, watching the latter avert his eyes to everything else **but** him.

Naruto learned his lesson the last time when he bet Kiba that he could carry the gym equipment faster. He failed to realize just how much there was in stock that needed to be lifted, and underestimated the mass causing his arms to strain under the pressure. Not only did Kiba beat him that day, but he had to do the other's homework for a week, carry his school supplies, buy him lunch and to top it all off was the massive pain and cramps he had in both his arms and legs as a result. Since then, the blonde made a silent vow to never bet with the other again.

However, the sound of free ramen for two weeks _was_ tempting. Finally, blue eyes caught onto narrowed pupils, albeit for a brief portion of a second. That was enough to make Kiba think the challenge was on. "Alright! The bet is on Uzumaki! Be prepared to buy the most expensive lunches for the next fourteen days!" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and leaned against his locker. "Don't you mean ten days?"

Kiba waved a dismissive hand to Nara. "Yeah, yeah! Hurry up Naruto I ain't got all day!" he said rushing downstairs. Naruto could only sigh in defeat as he hung his head. Lee patted him on the back, in an act of encouragement. "Do not worry Naruto! I am sure that you will be able to beat him! Do not forget all the times you had to run to class in less than thirty seconds when you were on the other side of the perimeter!"

That really didn't help, but the lazy bum did make a noise of agreement. "Yeah, that was impressive Uzumaki. You broke a record for that y'know?" Naruto gave him a grin that was really meant to threaten. Nara ignored it as the trio made their way downstairs, not knowing that there were people that was listening in and was actually placing bets of who would win.

OoOoO

On the tracking field, Naruto saw only one thing that kept his attention. Sakura was in her gym clothes; her long pink hair put into a pony-tail, short on revealing her long, soft peach toned leg, and the shirt with the school mascot of a swirling design with a triangle hook attached to the bottom left of it. It was a simple wardrobe, but to him anything looked simple gorgeous on Haruno. She turned her head slightly, emerald green meeting with sapphire blue before she tilted her head up, huffing and refusing to acknowledge his presence.

Disheartened a bit at the gesture, Naruto shook his head and looked around, taking in the surroundings. Everyone was hunched together, gossiping about something that was too low to be heard. He shrugged and took notice in how Kiba was warming up, jumping up and down slightly as he shook and loosened himself. The blonde merely shook his head at the sight. Inuzuka took things to another level, even if it was something as trivial as eating lunch.

Blocking up his pal's unneeded preparation, his eyes scanned around a little more before locking onto yet another person. They were just standing there, waiting for nothing in particular as they stared disinterested at the landscape. Their hair blew carelessly in the winds, bangs gliding against their head and eyes, causing them to squint. Arms were crossed against the chest, weight shifted on their left leg. Oh gods… They had great legs. So smooth and a pale white, unlike anything he'd every seen before. Naruto felt his face flush and heart rate speed as he continued to take in the sight.

They were like an angel sent from heaven! Naruto jumped a bit when the person suddenly turned to him, glaring at him with a 'what are you looking at?' expression. "What do you want Usuratonkachi?" the harsh voice of one Sasuke Uchiha spat out. The blonde was immediately snapped out of his trance, noticing how he'd been checking out the other man. Naruto shrugged and rubbed the back of his head, giving Sasuke a cheeky grin. "Nothing teme! Just weird how you look like you're so mad at the world for no reason," he said trying to come up with a smart remark.

Sasuke glared harder (if that were possible) at the other, before inevitably turning away, disregarding the teen. Naruto gawked a little at the rudeness, but that was it. Suddenly, Guy came out, whistle in hand. "Okay everyone you know the drill! Five times around the track!" Everyone got in place, waiting for the whistle to sound.

"Ready…"

Kiba and Naruto got into sprinting position, each shooting the other a snide grin.

"Set…"

Both braced themselves for the sound, Naruto's heart was beginning to beat faster.

"…GO!"

In a flash, they were gone, leaving everyone in their dust. Making sure to keep good form, Naruto breathed evenly as he dashed around the track, every now and again looking a Kiba who was solely focused on the track. Both seemed to be tied up, neither faltering as they quickly rounded the first lap in 5. 5 seconds. Naruto grinned to himself, maybe if he beat Kiba in this race in front of everyone, Sakura would begin to respect him a bit more. A goal set and adrenaline pumped, Naruto narrowed his eyes in focus, making sure to keep form and breathing in perfect measure as he continued on with the race.

**A/N: Another one down! Yay! Who will win in the race? Kiba or Naruto? In the next chapter, you will get to have a good glimpse at the transferred ambassadors from the other school (though you probably already know who they are anyway). And Day 1 of the Project will commence! Can't wait to get started! As always, reviews keep me going and keep my spirits up so make sure to leave them okay? **

**Gale signing off.**


	3. Home Stay Part One

**A/N: I'm back! Okay, this would have been up earlier but the unthinkable happened. My whole district had a BLACKOUT! A blackout right out of nowhere! And what's worse, I was TYPING when it happened! Everything I had typed… GONE! I was soooo depressed after that. But, after reading the reviews and seeing you guys say how much you like the story, I decided that I had to snap out of it and keep going! **

**And so here I am! Yay for perseverance! **

**Now, we all know that I don't own Naruto, if I did, THIS would be the overall plot, yaoi and hentai galore. And Itachi would be my man-slave. *sigh* one can dream. Now then~! **

**Chapter Three: The Home-Stay Part One**

Kicking up dirt, lungs giving way, adrenaline rushing. These were all that the two competitors could feel at this moment. Muscles tensing up as breathing induced, pushing onward for the sake of something beyond comprehension. The reward would be well-earned, well-deserved. It was something both wanted, both needed, and the thrill that they were enthralled in while achieving this goal was only one price to pay. What is this reward you say? What could it be to make them run, exhaustion nearly futile as they endeavored on this conquest of strength and endurance? It was simple.

It was for the sake of free lunch.

Kiba and Naruto were neck and neck, neither giving way as they continued to sprint around the track (completely missing the fact that it was a simple jog for physical education). They rarely spared any one a second glance, remaining focused and unnerved as they rounded another corner. Naruto could feel the strain, the pressure of muscle in his legs, but pushed it aside as minor inconvenience. It wasn't as though he never felt the sensation before, the telltale signs of the pain that was inevitable to come.

But it wasn't enough to make him stop. This ritual had been done before for both young men; to go at each other in a test of skill was something they had done countless times for the most idiotic reasons. As long as there was something to race for, or fight for, or even pursue in eating contest for, they would indulge in it. A sad truth though it was, as it was stated time and time again: such was the nature of men.

Breathe in, breathe out. Naruto kept this pattern going; not daring to let up as he saw Kiba had began to gain a portion of an inch ahead of him. He shook his head, ridding any unnecessary thoughts. '_For Sakura, this is to show her that I'm just as worthy for her attention,' _he reminded himself. Keeping the chant echoing softly in his head, along with the thought of how his dear Haruno would congratulate him upon his victory, made him push even harder to catch up.

First lap, second lap, and then third. They were tired, both knew, but it was the simple fact if they were to _show_ the other their weariness they knew it would only give them an edge. Kiba had kept a good system going, the perfect form and breathing as he made way to the fourth lap. He could feel Naruto just a breath away, knowing that should he slip up now the blonde would surely beat him. Such a defeat would surely not sit right with him. He was an Inuzuka, and Inuzukas did **not** lose. They endured; and persevered.

Keeping the thought in check, he couldn't help but smirk. His family had such pride, and spirit that would remain unbroken. That was what caused him to meet Naruto in the first place. They were kindred spirits in a way. Both wild by nature, never letting someone tell them what they could or couldn't be or do. When they met years ago, he remembered clearly what the blonde idiot had said when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up.

_He stood with his small and round face with a fixed look of determination. Raising a hand and slamming it down with much force on the desk the little boy declared what it was. "When I grow up I wanna be the next Mayor of Konohagakure! That way everyone will respect me! Dattebayo!" The little dog lover's eyes widened with disbelief. This boy… Wanted to become Mayor? The same boy who caused the town so much trouble and mischief? His blue eyes blazed with a fierce fire of resolve, even as the class began to laugh at his guile. _

"_You want to become Mayor? Yeah right! No one would dare vote for you, Uzumaki!" shouted a girl. The class grew louder with laughter of taunt and ridicule. More slander slung their way to the little boy, who continued to stand his ground, never wavering. Inuzuka, who was pulled into the euphoria the class gave off, laughed at him, calling out, "You'll never become Mayor! You're not even worthy to talk to him, much less become one! You're aiming way off your mark kid!" That seemed to make something snap in the blonde, who began to growl lowly. _

_Kiba could see the anger and hurt in his eyes, but didn't falter from his spot. Shooting up a finger and pointing it towards the class, Naruto barked out with a voice full of uncanny fortitude, "Just you wait! I'll show all of you! Soon everyone will be looking up to me! I'll show all of you that I, Uzumaki Naruto, can and will become leader of Konoha!"_

The fondness of the memory still burned fresh in the brunettes mind. Naruto never gave up his dream, and still continued to shoot down and negativity that was thrown his way. That kind of spirit, and that kind of willpower, was something that Kiba just couldn't help but to admire. Should his dream come true or not, it wouldn't stop his admiration. Naruto had the potential to change people, whether or not the whiskered teen knew was beyond the dog carrier.

Fourth lap came and went, leading up to the grand finale. Naruto could feel the strain now, his muscles aching and his lungs burned. _'Maybe I'm out of shape,'_ he thought sarcastically. The thought eluded his mind just as soon as it entered. There was no time for joking around. The way he saw it, these stakes were high. Naruto didn't get much of an allowance, and considering how Iruka wouldn't let him get a job, should he lose the race he was simple out of luck. It didn't sit all too well in him once he broke it all down.

'_Damn it! I have to catch up!' _he declared in his mind, leaning forward to gain momentum. Eyes squinted from the sweat, he ran up on Kiba, race nearly at its end. All the while they had gained quite the crowd, students of pins and needles to see who would come out on top. The excitement was overwhelming; teens these days thrived off of stuff such as this. Anything that could get the blood pumping and the euphoria clouding the senses was more than enough to gain their attention. It wasn't to say that the race did that, rather than the simple fact that they were betting on one person to outdo the other.

Neck in neck, they were mere feet from the finish line. Naruto felt somewhat slighted from the sweat that blurred his line of vision, constantly having to blink it away. Kiba shook his head, pace never faltering as they grew closer… Closer… Closer. When what seemed to be an eternity, they stepped over the white strip that signaled the starting line, coming to a final end.

Naruto and Kiba bent over, huffing and trying to regain their breath to a normal rate. The students that remained on the side lines rushed to their sides as they cheered and patted the two on their backs for a job well done. After having a decent amount of oxygen in his lungs, the blonde looked up (still squinting) and breathed out, "who won?" In reality, the race was rather close, none of the students really knowing _who_ won at all. Murmurs radiated through the crowd as the coach made way.

"That was truly inspiring, as a coach and a man!" tears of pride streamed down the regal face, a smile plastered unwavering as he boated on how the race was spirit moving. Finally, one Shikamaru Nara stepped up, a look that showed passiveness and lack luster. "It was close I'll give you that. But the winner won by literally a nose. Congrats Kiba," he said less than enthused. The crowd made uproar of mixed happiness and anger.

Feeling defeated, Naruto dropped his head ever lower. Of course Kiba would win; he had much more stamina than the blonde. And honestly Naruto wasn't all that fast to begin with. It was a miracle that he kept up with the brunette in the first place. But somehow the fact that he _did_ made the teen feel slightly proud. A strong hand smacked Naruto out of his thoughts with a wheeze. He looked up to see the winner smiling down at him. "Hey don't feel bad Uzumaki! You did great! Not good enough though seeing as I won!" he said, mocking a bit at the end.

The blonde made a face at the snide remark his friend gave him as he stood up straight. "Yeah, yeah. Next time I'll win for sure Inuzuka!" he said, the characteristic smile of cockiness and haughtiness gracing his features. They shook hands, signaling that there was no hard feelings as Guy blew his whistles and ushered the class back indoors to continue the lesson.

OoOoOoO

Gym came and went, and soon it was time for Biology. This class was taught by Kurenai-sensei, who knew a great deal of all forms reverting to the topic. When the class was settled, the ruby-eyed woman stood in the front as she greeted the newest addition. "Class, this is a student from our neighboring district of Sunagakure. Everyone, meet Gaara." The class stared on at the odd looking transfer student, feeling the air suddenly chill.

The teen couldn't have been any older than the same age as Naruto, but slightly shorter than the blonde. He sported dark red hair, short and untamed by its looks. He had paled skin, mostly covered by his clothing. Gaara had on a turtle-neck, long sleeved read shirt with dark grey jeans and black shoes. The strap placed diagonally across his upper body held a gourd-like backpack with the designs of a cracked surface and various yellow papered 'seals'. Another odd trait was the red kanji sign for 'love' on the left side of his forehead. But that wasn't what truly intimidated the class.

No, it was his face. His face had the impression of one who lived a hard life. Around his eyes were black outlines, but it was his eyes that held such an impression. They leaked of blood-thirst and contempt. The sadistic and unfeeling light blue irises chilled the students to the bone. In truth, none of them wanted anything to do with the new kid. "He's so creepy," was a soft whisper from a nearby girl. Naruto shuddered inwardly as he locked eyes with the other for a brief second.

The blonde could see the hidden torment the red-head was concealing behind his cold, hard mask. Naruto glanced over at Sasuke, noting how even though the raven-haired teen wasn't reacting as everyone else did; his eyes flickered with an eerie uneasiness. _'There's something about that Gaara kid. He's not normal,' _Naruto heard himself think. He willed the thought away, trying not to put a bad rep on a person he hardly knew. Kurenai escorted Gaara to sit besides a fearful Rock Lee, whom of which refused to look at the other and instead busy himself with looking at the blackboard.

Once the new student was settled, class continued as usual, though it somewhat felt a bit awkward. Naruto was relieved this time around in the class due to him being allowed to sit further up. He really needed to find out what the problem was, he wasn't near-sided and didn't need glasses, but at times when he wrote notes it just didn't make since to him. Writing the notes and being the assignments, the class remained quiet for the duration. Ten minutes before the end, Kurenai had left to attend other matters, leaving a girl by the name TenTen in charge.

With the chance to now talk, the class gathered up in groups to do work and converse amongst each other. Naruto discreetly made way over to Sasuke who practically exiled himself from the rest of the students, taking interest in a stray bird that perched itself on the window. The blonde grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the other's desk with a grunt. He really didn't know what to say actually, knowing that tomorrow would be the beginning of the home-stay. Naruto wondered what it would be like to be in the house of someone who he didn't see eye to eye with.

Sasuke glanced over to the dobe before making a sound of annoyance. "What do you want?" he bit out harshly, making the blonde jump slightly at the sudden acknowledgement. He tapped the bridge of his nose as he spoke. "Well teme, tomorrow's the beginning of the project, y'know?" he said nervously. Sasuke grunted in agreement as he placed his head gracefully on his folded hands.

"So? What of it dobe?"

"How should we go on about it? I mean… Should we just go to your house or…"

Sasuke abruptly intervened. "No. I want to be able to mentally prepare that an idiot's coming over." Naruto grimaced at the statement, snarling a little as he glared at the stoic teen. "Well I don't find it so peachy either, Sasuke-_teme_!" he growled at with evident anger. The dark-haired brunette rolled his eyes as he sighed. "Just go home and pack dobe. Knowing you, you probably forgot to do that."

Naruto opened his mouth to retort, but knew that the young man was right. That completely slipped his mind as he left this morning. He folded his arms and huffed out hot air. "Whatever teme," he mumbled out before standing to leave. Sasuke glanced at him only briefly as the teen retreated before sighing as his eyebrows furrowed in agitation.

OoOoO

**In the Uzumaki House…**

Naruto and Iruka were sitting in silence for the most part, absent conversation about work and school entering every now and then. Deciding it was time to bring up the project (seeing how he chickened out yesterday); Naruto cleared his throat to get the older man's attention. "Hey Iruka… So tomorrow a classmate and I are doing this project…" The new bit of information caught Iruka's attention.

"Really? Who's your partner?"

Naruto frowned before saying an inaudible, "Sasuke Uchiha."

"Who?"

"I said Sasuke Uchiha."

A fork collided to a plate as Iruka tried to regain his composure. "Is that so? I thought you didn't like…" Naruto nodded. "That's just it! I don't like him. Not one bit. But Kakashi-sensei forced us to be partners… I don't want to talk about it though." Iruka nodded in understanding before taking a few more bites out of his dinner. He knew Kakashi since they went to school together when teens themselves and again in college. So of course if he put the two together it was for a good reason. Iruka smiled at his foster son before saying, "If that's the case I won't pester. So what is this project on?"

Naruto felt his cheeks dust with a light blush before looking at his food. "We're going to each other's house once a week or so," he said nimbly. Iruka was a tad baffled. "He's coming **here **tomorrow?" Naruto shook his head. "It's the opposite."

Iruka went wide-eyed before nodding absently. "Oh, okay then. So you won't be home tomorrow?" Naruto shrugged. "Nope. I hope its okay…" he began. The elder waved his hands in a dismissively manner. "It's fine! Fine! You have fun," he stated quickly before finishing his plate and retreating to the kitchen. Naruto stared at the assorted contents on his plate before sighing and continuing eating.

_Well, it went a lot better than I thought it would… _

OoOoOoO

**[A/N: I don't want to spend a lot of time going through the entire school day again, so I'll just cut to the end of the day where everyone is going home.]**

Sasuke was more than a little agitated by the end of the day. Not only did he get chased after a mob of fan girls yet again, almost get in a fight, and annoyed to death by a certain dobe, but now he had to take said dobe home with him. In truth, Sasuke didn't want to bring the idiot back to his place, and if it weren't for the fact that this was for a grade, then the young Uchiha wouldn't even bother to put up with him.

He tapped his foot in an irritated pace as he looked for the mop of obvious spiky hair at the school entrance. The barricade of students that flooded the school grounds didn't help as he tried to stand on one of the cement benches that occupied to area. Twenty minutes passed before he noticed the bright, yellow mass that could only signify Naruto. Jumping down the bench, he pushed his way through the crowd before seeing the teen laughing with a small secluded group of his friends.

Feeling an eyebrow twitch, the dark brunette grabbed the other by his collar, surprising him and his friends as he flew back. Looking over his shoulder, eyes widened in surprise at the owner of the hand. "Sasuke? What the hell teme?" he blurted out in shock. Sasuke glared back with his coaled eyes as he gnawed his teeth together. "You're so stupid dobe! Did you completely forget about today?" he seethed between gritted teeth. Naruto looked as though he was in thought for a moment before making a face of epiphany.

"The projects today isn't it teme?" he said dumbly. Sasuke felt the unshakable urge to face-palm at the statement. "Yes Usuratonkachi. Today we're starting. I've been waiting for you for twenty minutes!" he said furiously. Naruto gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry teme, but if it means anything I brought my stuff from home!" he said piping up and grinning.

Sasuke closed his eyes and released his hold on the teen. He was beginning to feel the telltale signs of a headache. All the while, Naruto's friends (and a few onlookers), watched the conversation with confusion. Starting to notice the unwanted attention, Sasuke etched Naruto to follow him to the exit. When they had fewer people around, the Uchiha sighed as he put his hands in his pockets. "Okay listen up dobe," he started.

Naruto knew that a lecture was about to take place, he could tell by the tone in the other's voice. "I have a few rules. Number One: When you come in, take off your shoes. Number Two: Refrain from saying anything stupid. Number Three: We have dinner at eight, and lights out at ten. No exceptions. Number Four: Don't bother my brother if you see he's busy. And Number Five: Above all else, please try to refrain from saying, "Believe It" or "Dattebayo". Got it?"

His acquaintance could only furrow his brow and frown at the news but nod all the same. It was only fitting that Naruto honor that, seeing how he was going to someone else's house. With a pout, he bade farewell to his friends before joining Sasuke off the school grounds.

OoOoO

Since Naruto had taken his precious time leaving the building, both had missed the buses that left school. Sasuke grimaced at the thought; the dobe was inconsiderate like that. He never took the time to think that _maybe_ it would be best to _try _to catch the school buses, that way they wouldn't be walking right now to the nearest Konoha Bus Terminal. Sasuke personally hated being there because of the crowded buses and perverts that wandered there from time to time.

But that was neither here nor there, seeing that there wasn't anything the dark brunette could do about it now. He sighed for what seemed the hundredth time since they began walking, causing Naruto to let out an irritated groan of his own. "Why do you keep doing that teme? You're making me depressed here!" he said in his raspy voice, giving Sasuke a quizzical look. The Uchiha glanced over his shoulder at the other, before looking back forward with an 'Hn'.

Eyebrows shot up, feeling insulted yet again as Naruto glared at the brooding teen ahead of him. Honestly, it wasn't like he was asking a dumb question… But then again seeing how this was Sasuke pretty much _everything_ that came out the blonde's mouth was considered stupid and uncalled for. The thought sat bitterly in his mind as he mauled it over, suddenly not wanting to go to the Uchiha's house for worry of being on the receiving end of Sasuke's constant down-putting, obnoxious, degrading criticism. Naruto's steps faltered, somewhat stumbling; before he regained his composure just in time to see the mop of raven locks turn and look at him cautiously. Naruto looked at him questionably before blinking and giving him a signature smile.

Sasuke's look didn't waver as he looked at the blonde, taking notice in how his walking seemed to slow up, then stumble, and get back on track. The nonchalant smile didn't deceive the coal-colored eyes, but wanting to press and see just _what_ bothered the dobe didn't appeal to him in the slightest. Sasuke closed his eyes and made a small grunting sound before turning back to the path ahead.

Perhaps the dobe didn't want to go? But there wasn't anything peculiar about that, they were rivals after all. But still… There really was **something** about this arrangement, something that he would regret in the long run. Disgruntled, the passive young man willed such thoughts from his head. What the hell did he have to worry about if it concerned **Naruto **of all people? He smirked, knowing that he was right just as they made it to the bus terminal.

OoOoOoO

The only problem that Naruto had with being on a public bus was the fact that there was everyone else who needed it just as much as he did. And because of this, he had to deal with a full-capacitated, cramped, and entirely uncomfortable ride through town. With all the people who packed themselves, there was very little room to move, and not to mention the heat because of the fact that there **were** so many people huddled together. And what's more was another key concept.

If he hated being here, then Sasuke _loathed_ it.

True to the fact was when he heard Sasuke grimace and let out a curse when there was a bump in the road, causing a girl to press into his front (in the most uncomfortable way), and have himself be backed into the blonde. Strange enough, the dobe didn't move at the transaction, so when Sasuke had faltered back he was met with the firm, chest and a precautious hand that landed on his shoulder in an act of kindness. He looked up a little, (seeing how is knees buckled and he couldn't stand straight), and saw Naruto's sapphire eyes studying him.

"You okay teme?" Sasuke barely registered what was asked, instead taking notice in the rippling muscle under Naruto shirt. He was well-toned, not overly fit but not scrawny as the brunette had imagined. But most of all, he was so _warm_. When Sasuke didn't answer right away, he felt the hand on his shoulder twitch, as if to say that things were getting awkward. He blinked and moved away. "Fine," he huffed out, trying to stand up straight.

Naruto looked at him before giving off a nervous laugh and rubbing the back of his head. "Y-yeah! The roads are so unstable here, tebayo!" Sasuke winced, knowing that the blonde was just covering his own embarrassment. He agreed all the more, not wanting the other to figure out that he was just as embarrassed, and if not, then more so.

Before anything could get anymore uncomfortable however, the gracious sound of the bus making a stop was heard. Sasuke sighed in relief as he made way of the stuffed vehicle, Naruto not to far behind. When they got off, the blonde noticed that they were in a side of town that he had never been before. The providence looked much more refined here, the houses bigger than his and yards greener. He saw some kids playing here and there, but it definitely gave off that 'high class' feel.

Awkwardness elated in him, as he looked around carefully while following the other. "You really live here teme?" he said in awe, watching as they went house by house. He was answered by a grunt just as the other made a turn to one of the finer houses in the neighborhood. "My brother makes a good living, so we can afford to have one of these houses. It's no big deal," he heard himself say as he grabbed his house keys out of his pocket and into the locks. With a _click_, the door was opened. Naruto was taken aback by the inside; it looked just a good as the outside!

The moment you stepped inside, there were two sets of stairwells on either side of the walls that showed the upper floor. On the ground level (where Sasuke and Naruto were), there was the living room area (or what the blonde presumed to be), at a flat screen 36" television. If there was more to the bottom floor it couldn't be seen, being that there were corners that blocked his range of vision.

He was star-struck, and could only leave his mouth agape as he took it all in. Once his mind started to register back to normal, he looked over at Sasuke who had already taken off his shoes and was beginning to leave from the front door. Mimicking the act, he took off his shoes while saying in a voice filled with admiration (towards the house of course), "Wow, you're really living it up here huh?"

Sasuke scoffed and ignored the notion. Everyone who came over had the same reaction, but it really didn't faze him anymore. Making his way upstairs, he called out, "Aniki, I'm home! And I brought a guest!" He began his ascend to the upper floor, the blonde shuffling around and the sound of his hurried steps close behind. Once they made their way up, Naruto fell in awe once more. _'So many room! How can four people need seven bedrooms?'_ he heard himself think, flabbergasted.

They went down one of the corridors to what was presumed to be the way to Sasuke's room. Walking pass one door the blonde nearly had a heart attack when a man appeared from nowhere. He was in an old fashioned house kimono; black with red clouds covering it. He didn't bother to close it up all the way, showing the whole of his chest. His hair was tousled, laying on his shoulders and draping around his pale face. Eyes black as coal studied the two as the man leaned against the doorframe, weight shifted to his right side and arms folded.

"Welcome home, Sasuke," he regarded, giving him a small nod. Sasuke returned the gesture before starting to continue to his room, only when he didn't hear an extra pair of footsteps, he turned back to see the dobe still gawking at the older man. Something foreign grew in the pit of his stomach, similar to disgust if the blonde even _thought_ what the younger Uchiha was considering. Naruto locked eyes with the elder, before he felt his mouth go dry from apprehension.

With a pointed stare, he blinked once before grinning widely. "I know you! You were on t.v. the other day!" he barked out happily, taking notice that the other had absolutely no idea what was going on. Naruto pointed at him as he lowered his head in thought. "You're… You were… Oh man!" he began to snap his fingers as he tried to recall his name. Sasuke frowned, feeling a bit of relief however in the fact that Naruto wasn't staring at his brother because of the thought he himself was considering beforehand.

Sasuke's duplicate (or was it the other way around?) finally caught on, giving him a small smile as he said in his velvet-like voice, "I'm Itachi Uchiha." Naruto beamed at the name, clapping his hands together. "Yeah, yeah! You're that author I saw on that show the other day!" Itachi, most humble, waved away the notion.

With a small, almost translucent smile he regarded to the teen, "I see you have heard of me, however I am at the disadvantage here." The blonde blinked before taking notice, smile dimming down to a bashful one. "Sorry. I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." He bowed curtly to the elder, showing that he did have some form of respect. The name clicked something within the confines of Itachi's memory, seeing how for a moment his eyes widened only a miniscule before repeating the name mostly to himself.

On the other hand, in the midst of the admiration and hospitality, one sidelined Sasuke began to grow more and more annoyed. Grabbing Naruto by the wrist and excusing the two of them, they rushed down the hall to his room, earning a few protests from the one being dragged closely behind. Once they were in the confines of the brunettes' room, Naruto dropped his book bag, giving Sasuke a look of confusion and frustration.

Before he could form a sentence describing his displeasure to the situation, Sasuke sent a small effective glare his way. "Don't start. We're here to do the project, not swoon over my brother." A sound mixed between a grunt and groan was heard, before the subject was dropped.

It occurred suddenly to the blonde, why was teme defending himself? Surely he didn't find the fact that he was talking to his brother that much of a nuisance, did he? But then again they didn't really like each other in the first place, so why would he allow Naruto to converse with anyone in his family? The fact was that Sasuke truly must not have wanted company, or worse. Naruto watched as the Uchiha pulled out his books and papers, obviously starting to begin his homework. Naruto sighed. It was _his_ house, so he would respect it at least.

But still… He couldn't help but feel that something a little _off_ about normally passive teen.

**A/N: Gah! This wasn't my best work, but I'll do better next chapter I promise! I was writing this while constantly hitting wall after wall in my head. It was difficult to write this for some reason, I guess because of the fact that I was pushing through writer's block. *sigh*, anyway, sorry for the cliff hanger, but that's why the title had PART ONE in it. Lol. **

**Well, till the next chapter, in which I will work diligently on and stop procrastinating! **


	4. AN: Please Read

**Hey everyone~! Dedicated readers to this story, I just want to say thank you so much! I promise you that I am working hard on the next chapter, which should be up some time next week or the week after. But in the meantime, I posted up another story for you to enjoy. It's a oneshot but if you like it, I will make it a multi-chapter one! I have plenty of ideas for it, so leave a review there to tell me what you think! **

**It's a Yu-gi-oh! fanfic called, "I'll always be there for you." Please read it. It'll tie you over if only a little until I finish this chapter up. **

**Well, see ya later~! ^^**


	5. Home Stay Part Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, be it the series or anime. If I did… Well, let's not get into that. **

**Annnd, I'm back! PLEASE FORGIVE MY LAZINESS! *bows frantically* I really don't know what to say so I'll just get right into the story.**

**Chapter Four: Home-Stay Part Two**

Naruto ventured to his discarded bag over at the door, feeling the need to change out of his school clothes. It really wasn't his thing to parade around in such formal attire all day when it, in truth, wasn't needed. Plus, he couldn't get comfortable when he felt constrained. He searched around until he found the source of why he was in the bag; pulling out an orange searched with a black outline of a fox with nine tails over the front along with a pair of jeans (though these seemed somewhat faded and had tears over the knees).

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the gesture, slightly amused. "You actually brought an extra set of clothes with you?" he said confused. Naruto returned the expression.

"Well I'm not going to be walking around in _this_ all day!" emphasizing the 'this' by pointing to his uniform. Sasuke rolled his eyes and shrugged it off, the whole thing suddenly losing interest in the raven-haired teen. He began to attempt doing his homework as he sat at the small table beside his bed. Just as he started however, the familiar sound of ruffling clothes caused his ears to twitch just slightly.

He turned around; attention diverted from his studies as he saw the blonde taking off a black t-shirt that Sasuke guessed was worn underneath the school shirt. Naruto was a little tan there, and he had this strange mark on his stomach. Sasuke gave it a quizzical look before noting the muscle just underneath the bizarre markings. He really _was_ fit. Coal eyes examined more with a bit more interest.

'_He must work out a lot. He looks like he does. I wonder what… Wait. What the hell?' _Sasuke shook his head realizing just what he was doing. He threw the first thing he got his hand on… This happened to be a large textbook for physics. "Gah!" Then a thud was heard resonant in the room. Naruto looked up from his fallen position on the floor to shoot Sasuke a dirty glare. "What was that for teme?" he bellowed out irate.

Sasuke scoffed. "Don't go around changing in someone else's room as you please dobe. That's called being rude and ignorant," he muttered, turning back to his table. Naruto made a gesture, mocking Sasuke before frowning. "Then where do I change?" he asked. The stoic teen shrugged.

"Down the hall is a bathroom. It's the second door on your left," was the absentminded response. Naruto sighed and gathered his bearings, making way down the hall as instructed. The blonde at least had the time to quietly bask in the magnitude of just how _luxurious _everything was in here. The walls had portraits on them of various, anonymous objects and people. Everything looked as if it were placed just right with careful consideration. Naruto's eyes trailed over the intricate pottery and sculptures, unsure of what to actually **do** while at this home stay.

'_Heh, maybe Sasuke'll warm up to me. Then we'll be doing all sorts of fun stuff like playing video games, playing basketball, maybe even hang out at the Konoha Mall!' _Naruto chipped up at the thought, knowing that somehow, someway, he would get the Uchiha to be his friend. It was a natural effect after being around the blonde for a limited amount of time. He just had that sort of charisma. _'Got it from my dad, that's what Iruka says anyway,'_ he mentally added, suddenly feeling a small tinge of resentment rise up in his chest.

Naruto pushed it away after seeing a door that Sasuke had said would be the bathroom. Grabbing onto the brass doorknob, he gave it a turn and walked inside.

Only to stop short at the sight of a lavishly decorated white room.

"Where am I?" he squeaked out, unable to believe that even something like a_ bathroom_ would have a crystal chandelier and bear rug placed in the middle of the mini sanctuary. He closed the door, leaning back in awe and modesty. "Sasuke really has it good here," he breathed. Suddenly it all clicked into place. Sasuke had anything he could want; the big house, lavish rooms, expensive knick-knacks here and there. No wonder he was so snooty, the guy was stuck-up because he was practically rich!

Naruto furrowed his brow, a slight snarl slipping past his lips. _'So, teme thinks he just better than everyone, huh? If there's anything I hate it's a guy who's a stuck-up, bastard that thinks people like me are beneath him!'_ With that he stripped from his school clothes, exchanging them for the casual laid back garments he brought from home.

Sasuke sighed, suddenly finding it difficult to work at all. Seeing the dobe stripping down in _his _room really irked him. To have the gull, but then he guessed it was only expected. It wasn't really annoying, but it was just… Sasuke scuffed his head trying to find the right word. Inconvenient? No. Distressing? No, not that. Troublesome? Sasuke nodded. That seemed to fit… he supposed. With a sigh, he rose and made way to his dresser.

Pulling out a simple black, long-sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans, he began to change. If he was going to ignore his work, the least he could do was be in comfortable clothing while lounging around.

OoOoO

Naruto had finished dressing, making way back into Sasuke's room. He was still a bit heated over his newest revelation, but least he could do was act as if it didn't faze him. Opening the door, he sighed. "Oi, teme, I didn't know that your bathroom was so nice—!" Blue eyes shot open in shock as he stared at Sasuke who gave him the same look of astonishment.

Sasuke was mid way through putting on a black shirt, pale white skin revealed for all to see. Naruto looked him over, noticing that it was the same complexion as it were in his dreams. Images of Sasuke writhing under him began to intrude his head, causing him to faintly blush. However, the other party was none to thrill with being caught half-dressed. "Get out you dobe!" he barked, reaching for a spare pillow from his bed and aiming it for the door way.

Quick to dodge, Naruto closed the door and slumped against the way. This really wasn't going to help his dreams.

OoOoO

Time came and went, until fifteen minutes had passed. Naruto, still on the other side of the room had deemed it enough time for the raven-haired teen to be finished. With a careful and considered knock, he said, "Hey teme, you done yet?" Silence met him in response. Naruto frowned, thinking over whether or not it was okay to intrude into the room. He had knocked, right? Surely Sasuke wouldn't blame him since he was courteous enough to do that small action.

He opened it a small fraction, just in case another pillow were to fly at him in defense. When he was met with nothing, he opened the door wider. "Teme, you done?" he asked again, careful to not walk in on another _accident_. Naruto looked to see Sasuke hard at work with an assignment given in class. Mentally sighing with relief, Naruto walked in with more confidence and sat down on the bedding.

Sasuke looked so enthralled into the work. For a brief moment, Naruto wondered if maybe this was a daily routine for the teen, seeing how he got perfect scores in all of his classes. Naruto leaned back on his elbows to stare at the ceiling. This silence was overbearing, even for him. But strangely enough, the silence held no tension. He glanced over at the Uchiha again, still working diligently.

'_Maybe it's because he's so wrapped up in work. What kind of teenager actually comes home and does there homework first thing?' _Naruto sat up and leaned forward, arms resting on his knees. To break the silence (and his boredom), Naruto piped up. "Hey teme, you actually do your homework first?" He smirked when he took notice in the way Sasuke momentarily stopped writing before continuing. "Of course. What do you think I'd do?" he mumbled out.

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno, hang out with some friends?"

"What friends?"

Blue eyes widened. He forgot about that. "Then, play some video games?"

Sasuke sighed. "I would rather get my homework out of the way first, that way I don't have to worry about it later on. Doesn't that make more since then just going to the mall?" With that he peered over at Naruto through his peripheral. The blonde blinked absently before rubbing the back of his head, a nervous laugh echoing through the walls.

"Yeah, yeah of course! I do that too, tebayo!" Sasuke smirked. "Let me guess; you probably go home, get dressed, play games or hang with your pals, stay out till god knows when, and in the morning you're rushing to get the homework from all your friends who did it already? Am I in the right area here?" Naruto flushed with embarrassment. He was right.

Feeling slightly offended, he pointed at the other teen. "Yeah well… Well… Shut up!" He yelled dejectedly. Sasuke couldn't help it. He chuckled. It was low, almost inaudible, but it was there. Naruto jumped at the sound, and then grinned. "So you **do** have a sense of humor teme!" Sasuke shook his head. "Just do you work dobe." Before Naruto could retort, the other's voice was heard again. "It's one of my rules, remember? We do homework in this house before anything else."

Naruto groaned in disapproval, but grabbed his book bag nonetheless. He sat beside Sasuke, careful to put some space between them and grabbed his English book. It was fairly silent, aside from the occasional question. Naruto looked at the questions he had written down, suddenly unsure of what to do. It was the same as before in class. That odd feeling that he couldn't get what was going on.

With great effort, he pushed it aside. Glancing over at Sasuke, he saw that the other had already begun another assignment. Surely, this was no hassle to the teme. Naruto inwardly growled in aggravation. What was it about Sasuke? So many contradicting feelings filled the blonde when the subject of his partner came into play. He wanted to be his friend, yet couldn't stand him. He hated his guts, yet he admired him from afar. He at times couldn't stand the sight of the teme, but he had dreams about him.

A groan slipped past his lips as the whole dilemma only succeed in thoroughly confusing Naruto further in his indecisive feelings. _'It's not like I can't tolerate him. He's just such a smart-ass! I hate people like that,' _he mentally told himself. With a shake of his head, the blonde made the decision to simply cast the thoughts and mental turmoil aside in order to continue his work.

Minutes passed in the room as very few words were exchanged (lest it concern the work). A light tap and the familiar creaking of a door being opened were heard almost immediately. Naruto turned around in question only to smile upon seeing Itachi carrying a tray of various snacks and two cups. He gave the two younger men a small grin before placing the tray on the computer table.

"I thought that maybe you would want some snacks for you and your friend Sasuke," he said in that low, velvety tone. Sasuke grunted but nothing more. He strongly disagreed with the notion of Naruto being considered a 'friend'. He was barely an associate in the dark brunettes' eyes. Naruto however didn't mind being called such, seeing how there were snacks in the room.

Quickly rising to his feet, he walked over to the table. "Thanks a lot Uchiha-san!" he happily piped out, reaching for what he could only think was a pastry roll and a cup of tea. Itachi quirked an eyebrow. To be called 'san' really didn't sit well with him. It made him feel… old. And he knew that _that_ wasn't the truth in the slightest, being only twenty-one. "Naruto, you don't have to call me that. Just 'Itachi' is enough," he said, giving an amused smirk when said blonde turned around with a look of shock and admiration.

"R-really? Okay then! Thanks Itachi!" he said, smiling beaming wide from ear to ear it seemed. To be allowed to call someone as well-acknowledged and high-respect as Itachi Uchiha by his first name was no small feat. And needless to say, Naruto was honored. Sasuke held back the urge to roll his eyes. Anyone who talked to his brother would always fawn and stumble around him. Albeit men or women. He thought that maybe the dobe was different, but apparently Itachi's charm wasn't impervious to even Naruto.

But it was always like that he thought. Ever since Itachi and he were younger, his older brother was the one highly acknowledged and fawned over. He had tried, oh how he tried, to be like his Aniki. But it wasn't enough. If anything, it made Itachi stand out even more simply because his 'adorable otouto' was trying to be just like him. Sasuke sneered. He was so enwrapped in trying to be like _him _that… He shook his head. There was no way that he was going to regress on such things.

Itachi knew his brother all too well. He could tell that something was wrong with him, but didn't press the issue. Instead he gave his best charismatic smile and took his leave. "Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes," he announced just before disappearing behind the door. Naruto nodded eagerly before turning back to Sasuke.

"You're brother is so cool teme! Why don't you ever talk about him?" he blurted as he bit into another roll with equal enthusiasm, marveling in the taste. Sasuke's frowned deepened. "Because it's none of your business dobe," he said, bitterness and frustration enveloped his words. Naruto blinked in confusion.

What was wrong with him? If Naruto had a brother like Itachi, why, he would talk about him all the time nonstop. But sadly he was an only child. At least to his knowledge. Iruka never really talked to him about his parents that much. He shrugged and went back to work, completely oblivious to the fact that Sasuke was now trembling with animosity and resentment.

OoOoOoO

Dinner was truly a treat for Naruto. Half the things he ate he didn't even know existed. But then again, when you're eating ramen practically 24/7 anything other than that seems like a delicacy for your taste buds. It was strangely quiet though. There was some hidden tension there that he couldn't really place his finger one. Perhaps it was there whenever Sasuke talked to Itachi about his day. Or maybe it was there when Naruto carried on about how good the food was. Or perhaps even when Itachi gave out embarrassing information concerning a certain anti-social Uchiha's childhood.

Either way, it was there and was uncomfortable to say the least. But Naruto pushed through it. He picked at a strange concoction that was an unnatural orange color. "So… Is it okay to ask where your parents are?" he said unsure of what to expect. Itachi faltered only slightly before quickly regaining his composure. This went by too quickly, so neither teen noticed. He looked over at Sasuke who was now pretty much glaring at his food.

"Well," Itachi began as he reached for a napkin. "I moved out when I was seventeen due to some issues." There was an unknown cryptic eeriness looming over the words that made Naruto look on with question. "But Sasuke here moved in with me just before high school," the older Uchiha stated, eyeing his younger closely. Naruto glanced over at his classmate, the newest of the information he learned still registering.

"Really? Why'd you move out teme?" he asked as he took a bit out of a piece of meat (at least that what it looked like). Sasuke glowered at his food a moment longer before saying an even, "I had my reasons." The tension behind the words, the subtly hidden anger and bile frustration caused the room to go cold. Naruto flinched at the words, though he knew the emotion behind it wasn't aimed at him.

Suddenly, he saw something odd. It went rather quickly, and so he couldn't get a good look at it. Sasuke's eyes changed colors. They went from their cold, coal black to a faint bloodied red. But he couldn't see it well enough since the brunette quickly excused himself and picked up his plate to leave. Naruto and Itachi were now alone at the table, the blonde looking around in confusion and offense. Itachi patted his mouth politely.

Picking up his plate as well and starting to stand, he bowed at Naruto in apology. "Please excuse Sasuke Naruto. It's really a sore subject for him to bring up," his brother explained. Naruto could only nod in slight understanding as he watched the other Uchiha make his leave, the blonde now sitting alone at the table. He studied his food with a fixed expression.

_Is that a sore subject for him? What happened? _Naruto pondered, suddenly wanting to know more about teme. But, of course with Sasuke being Sasuke, he wouldn't know how to have him open up. _And even if he could, who's to say that he'll talk to me of all people? He hates me! _The depression seeped in lower into his reserve as he blandly picked at the food. Suddenly, the variety on his plate didn't seem so appetizing.

A few minutes later Naruto cleaned off his plate (though Itachi insisted he shouldn't since he was the guest), and headed back upstairs to Sasuke's room. Upon arrival, he noticed the door was closed. He sighed and began to knock (out of courteousness), but ceased when he heard the faint sounds of whispers. Quizzically, he leaned against the door to try to hear just what was going on. The whispers were almost inaudible, causing Naruto to strain himself in order to hear them.

"_Sasuke, it's rude for you to walk out like that…" _Naruto blinked. _Itachi's voice? _He pressed harder to try to hear more.

"_I was getting stressed. I don't want anyone to see _that_, least of all the dobe." _Naruto quietly sneered at the name.

"_Still, for you to storm out like that… He's a guest before anything and should be treated as such. I believe an apology is needed."_

"_Tch. It doesn't matter. He's only here for the home stay."_

An exasperated sigh was heard. _"Sasuke…"_

"_I don't want to talk about it."_

Silence. Or at least that was what Naruto heard. Just before he was about to knock, another sentence was muttered out.

"_Mother and Father really do want you to come back. They said they were sorry…"_

Once more there was silence. Naruto blinked. What was Itachi talking about? Just then the doorknob turned, causing the blonde to step back in alarm. Itachi greeted him, a look of small surprise on his face before he composed himself. With an inclined head, the older Uchiha once again left to retreat into a different room from the one he was in when Naruto and Sasuke first arrived. Naruto looked on for a moment, and then briefly averted his attention back to the teen sitting at his computer.

Taking a breath, Naruto stepped in and laughed. It was rather silly really, to laugh at a situation that was considered most _un-_funny at the time. But this was his only way to break the tension. Sasuke glanced over at his from the corner of his eye before turning back to his computer. Naruto rubbed the back of his had, the discomfort starting to sink in and make itself known.

"So… What'cha doing there teme?" he asked with no real interest, but rather out of the necessity to stop the overbearing feeling from crushing him. Sasuke shrugged. "Nothing really." Naruto nodded. _Well, that could've gone better. _He sat on the bed, taking in the room even more. Once more he tried something.

Sitting up straight he looked at the back of Sasuke. Suppose he could try to pry out some things that he would like. That was the purpose of the visit after all, wasn't it? Surely Sasuke wouldn't try to close him out if it were for the project. All they had to do was get a few fun facts about each other, to get to know your partner better by the end of it all. Ocean blue flickered with new determination towards the idea. "Hey, Sasuke?"

Though there was silence, Naruto knew the other was listening and so proceeded. "What kind of music do you like?" he asked, a small part of him actually interested. Sasuke shrugged. "Jazz… I guess…" he said with uncertainty softly covering his answer like a translucent veil. Naruto quirked a brow. _Jazz? Yeah, teme looks like the kind of person who would sit down and listen to jazz all day._ The thought of Sasuke sitting down in a recliner, housecoat and pipe in hand as he read and listened to the genre of his choice made the blonde snicker.

Sasuke paused in his online browsing once he heard the sound but then continued. He knew the only reason Naruto would bother to ask was to get information on the project. It was subtle, he gave the dobe that. "What about you? You seem like the heavy metal, screaming about ludicrously type of person," he drawled out in tired fashion. Naruto abruptly stopped, eyes widening in surprise and apprehension.

"Y-yeah… But you make it sound bad when you say it teme," he said, pouting a bit. Sasuke closed his eyes and snorted arrogantly. "Of course not," he said with feigned ignorance. "Mind numbing squalling over… I don't know… sex seems _quite interesting_," he retorted. Naruto rolled his eyes. Now he just knew the brunette was toying with him.

A bit of resentment was in his voice he spat out, "Yeah, well I'm sure that listening to depressing instruments drawl out that are supposed to be the message of 'joy' is fascinating too," he crossed his arms across his chest as Sasuke turned around to glare. "Jazz isn't just music. It's a form of art and self-expression dobe," he seethed. Naruto shrugged with disinterest. "All I hear is a lot of noise with no words."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "That's because your brain lacks the capacity that allows you to appreciate its true meaning." Naruto returned the gaze. "Well excuse me if I don't sit around in the dark all day alone to actually _get_ the time to listen and _appreciate_ it, unlike some people." With this, Sasuke got up from his chair, intent on throttling Naruto who was just as prepared to do the same.

Who knew a simple question would lead to an argument?

OoOoO

After a nice bath, which both teens needed after trying to kill each other (thank goodness that Itachi stopped the madness); Naruto and Sasuke were ready for bed. Well, at least Sasuke was. Naruto, being naturally hyper, wasn't ready to call it a day just yet. After all, it was only ten at night! There was so much more to do! "I don't get it teme, it's ten and you're seventeen! You should be up all night!" he said sitting cross-legged on the floor. Sasuke scoffed as he turned over on his bed, back towards the blonde.

"Not much of a night-person. Besides, this is one of the rules. Bed at ten; no exceptions." With that he clapped his hands, causing the lights to go off. Naruto looked up with lack of luster. _Of course teme would have a clap on, clap off light. Why not? Why the hell not? Show off. _He clapped twice, doing the opposite effect that Sasuke did. Said Uchiha sat up and glared over his shoulder and the other who gave him an equal look of un-enthusiasm.

"Okay teme, we need to start getting along. If not for anything, then for the project. So long as we at least _act _the part, it would be less bothersome for both of us and less annoying." Sasuke studied Naruto's unwavering eyes. He was right, they should. But he just… couldn't. It wasn't something that he was used to. And truth be told, to try stumbling into that sort of territory at his age, didn't really appeal to him. But if they didn't try _something,_ this month was going to be hell.

Taking a breath of exasperation, Sasuke nodded curtly. "Fine. But the moment you start to really annoy me, then that's it. Got it?" Naruto was shocked that he would agree but nodded all the same. With that Sasuke turned the lights off again, lying back down as Naruto sat up in the dark. This was… a step. At least the agreed to pretend to agree for the sake of… the project. Still, it was better than nothing.

With a slight grin, Naruto lay down and closed his eyes. Of course, his dreams didn't really help his reserve. If anything, they were made worse considering how now he was sleeping in the same general area as the center of all his pent hormonal frustration. Trying to steer them away wasn't easy, but at least he got Sasuke to play along. That counted for something, right?

**A/N: DONE DONE DONE! *gasps* this was annoying as hell to do! But I did it. Are you proud of me? Are ya? ^^ okay, well heads up. Unfortunately, I have school starting next week, so the uploading might stall after this. Just thought I'd give you all one last chapter before I return back to hell. Lol. Welp reviews! You know I love'em (lolz at the Beetlejuice reference). O_o as you can see, I'm terribly tired since I'm being random. On to dreamland! (Passes out)**

**Naruto: Okay? But really, review! They actually keep her motivated!**

**Sasuke: Unless they don't want to see the action that's soon to come, dobe. -_-**


End file.
